The expected release of the International Criminal Courts report on Jos crisis has created anxiety in the Plateau State capital.ICC had said it would this month publish a report on its preliminary examinations over allegations of crimes against humanity in Jos.The ICC Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said the report would be ready during the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties of the global court at the United Nations headquarters in New York.The decision by the world court to examine the Jos crisis followed a petition by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project in January last year.Mr. Femi Falana, SERAPs solicitor, in the petition to Moreno-Ocampo, urged the group to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity in Jos.ICC had organised an open forum in the state where various stakeholders, including victims gave personal accounts of the crises. It is expected that these would form the basis for the preliminary report.Our correspondent learnt that some powerful persons in the state had been desperate to know the content of the report.Some are believed to have visited The Hague, headquarters of the ICC to get an idea of the preliminary report.A member representing Jos East/Jos South in the House of Representatives, Mr. Bitrus Kaze, told our correspondent that he did not see the need for any apprehension, since its only a preliminary report, which will establish if crime had been committed to warrant any further inquiry.He said, It is not really an ICC report as such. It is preliminary report to establish if crime against humanity or crimes that tend towards genocide has been committed in the intractable Jos crisis. If that is done, the ICC will now send a team to conduct an inquiry which will establish in specifics, those on the wrong side of universal law.Human rights activist, Mr. Joseph Sangosanya, however wants the state government to study the report critically when it is released.
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