‘From insanity to sanity in Governance: The International Criminal Court a Sign Post Against Impunity”, Threat to National Peace and Security’

Abstract

The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was borne out of the quest to ensure the end of impunity and threat to national peace and security. Interestingly, African situations dominate the situations before the court. This paper seeks to interrogate the opportunities and challenges that face the ICC. The prime challenge examined will be that of political conspiracy against the ICC by some acclaimed ‘Africanist’ and the African Union, while the opportunities examined are as captured in the words of Luis Moreno Ocampo, when he stated that “perpetrators’ of crimes against humanity shall no longer go unpunished; no matter how long they run and evade us, justice will surely catch up with them. One successful situation is a deterrent to several others so it is clear that we are making an impact”. Against the back drop of the recent acts of terrorism and threat to national security it becomes imperative to examine if the above statement by the prosecutor of the ICC impacts positively on the leaders and perpetrators of these crimes. Consequently, this paper interrogates the options the establishment and strengthening of international judicial bodies provides to Nigeria’s governance and fight against impunity. This is achieved by structuring the paper in four major aspects. Part 1 deals with the concept of impunity, peace and security from a national and international perspective. Part 2 conceptualises the role and establishment of international judicial bodies. Part 3 extrapolates challenges and opportunities presented by international judicial bodies like the ICC, ICTR, ICTY and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Part 4 makes conclusion and recommendations. Finally, the paper posits that the presence of the ICC and other international judicial institutions as a watch dog is indeed ensuring the paradigm shift from insanity to sanity in governance and national integration in Nigeria.