Introduction

On 1 July 2002, the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into force. As of August 2017, 124 states had ratified the statute, ¹ and 34 of them are in Africa. ² Nigeria ratified the Statute of the ICC (Rome Statute) on 27 September 2001. ³ The Rome Statute recognises genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression which are considered to be the most serious crimes that are of concern to the international community. ⁴ With the wide adoption of the Rome Statute, the international community has shown its commitment to the ideal of ending impunity so that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community will not go unpunished. ⁵ The Rome Statute creates the ICC and makes it a permanent institution. ⁶ The permanence of the ICC indicates that the ideal of ending impunity has assumed an institutional dimension. ⁷ While the crimes recognised under the Rome Statute are considered the most serious because of their ‘shocking cruelties’ ⁸ impunity ‘adds insult to the injury already suffered by victims’ ⁹ 2when the victims realise that the perpetrators will go unpunished. Therefore, the creation of the ICC not only reflects the maintenance of high ideals; it also reflects ‘a belief in the practical deterrent’ ¹⁰ that the creation of the court can achieve. ¹¹