The African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, has claimed that international law requires a certain number of deaths in Nigeria before the International Criminal Court (ICC) can move to arrest President Bola Tinubu.
Amaechi made the remarks in an online video addressed to ADC stakeholders, in which he cautioned the president against what he described as his administration’s crackdown on the opposition.
He pointed to former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is in detention over the killing of thousands of people, as an example of what could happen.
“We must be ready. International law says there is a number of persons that must die at the hands of this government before Tinubu will be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court,” Amaechi said.
He claimed that Attorney-General of the Federation was once his lawyer and therefore knows the figure. “Tinubu will not leave Nigeria. Even if he wants to leave, they will carry him from here,” he added.
Recalling the Duterte case, Amaechi said about 5,000 people were killed before ICC officers went to where the former Philippine leader was and took him into custody. According to him, Duterte tried to stop them at the airport, but they refused to back down and eventually took him after negotiations.
“Ask anybody who has studied international law. Even Tinubu knows this is a problem for him,” he said.
Amaechi also said the president would not be the only one to face arrest. According to him, the military officer who issued the order, the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector-General of Police could all be held under international law.
“So, when they shoot, it is to frighten you, and you must resist it,” he told his audience
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