The International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun conducting a preliminary investigation into the recent shooting of peaceful #ENDSARS protesters in Nigeria, according to reports by the British Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.
In a statement, the office of the ICC prosecutor had earlier said it had received information on alleged crimes. The examination will “assess whether the legal criteria for opening an investigation under the Rome Statute are met.” For weeks crowds of peaceful protesters gathered in streets in major towns of the country to demonstrate against police brutality, leading to a crackdown.
Rights group Amnesty International said security forces opened fire on protesters, killing and injuring a number of people. Both the police and the army have rejected Amnesty’s allegation. But the ICC said it would make findings of the preliminary examination public. A number of states across the country led by Lagos have all set up panels to also look into the matter.
