Amnesty International said it has documented many of these crimes, including the March 2014 Giwa barracks massacre.
Global human rights body, the Amnesty International has slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) for the slow investigation of the atrocities committed by the Nigerian military.
A statement by the Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, on Thursday in response to the conclusion of an official visit of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) to Nigeria, regretted that the Office of the Prosecutor had only demonstrated its "slow abandonment of victims and survivors of the conflict in northeast Nigeria."
“Instead of investigating the atrocities, the Office of the Prosecutor’s rare visits to Nigeria mainly consist in meeting with national authorities."
It noted that for the past 10 years, Nigeria's military had killed at least 640 men and boys after they fled the Giwa barracks in Maiduguri, Borno state without accountability.
The statement partly read: “10 years ago this month the Nigerian military slaughtered at least 640 men and boys after they fled the Giwa barracks in Maiduguri, Borno state, following a Boko Haram attack.
"This dreadful anniversary is now accompanied by a statement by the Office of the Prosecutor that victims must continue to wait for justice.
"In December 2020, the ICC Prosecutor decided that an investigation in Nigeria was warranted, on the basis that Nigerian authorities were not willing or able to genuinely investigate and prosecute the numerous crimes committed in the north-east of the country by members of Boko Haram and the Nigerian Security Forces. Despite its decision in 2020, the Office of the Prosecutor has yet to formally move to open an investigation.
“In light of its 2020 decision, yesterday’s statement only further confirms the Office of the Prosecutor’s disregard for its legal duty to investigate, when states do not. The statement also demonstrates the emptiness of its commitment to Nigerian victims, who – pointedly – it did not visit in the north-east.”
Giving the background of the atrocities the Nigerian military committed, the global rights body noted that "from 19 to 22 March 2024, the Office of the Prosecutor visited Abuja, Nigeria.
"Following this trip, the Office published a statement which provides no update on the status of the situation before the ICC."
It noted that "war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed both by the armed group Boko Haram and the Nigerian security forces in north-east Nigeria since 2009."
Amnesty International said it has documented many of these crimes, including the March 2014 Giwa barracks massacre.
"On 11 December 2020, after 10 years of preliminary examination, (former) ICC Prosecutor closed the Nigeria preliminary examination concluding that crimes against humanity and war crimes had been committed and that the Nigerian authorities had failed to genuinely investigate and prosecute these crimes, therefore warranting a full investigation by the ICC. Since that decision, the Office of the Prosecutor has yet to request the opening of an investigation."