AS the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, disclosed that details of his reports on the preliminary investigations on the Jos killing would be made public soon, US-based Nigerians are filing a new petition with another arm of the United Nations, seeking a fresh human rights violation investigations in Benue State.Citing several international media reports, including news reports about the violence in the state by the New York Times, to back their claims, the Nigerian-Americans, who filed the petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, are supporters of the ACN gubernatorial candidate in this year's elections, Prof. Steve Ugbah, who ran against the incumbent PDP governor, Gabriel Suswam.Although Suswam was declared winner, the ACN candidate, an American professor, challenged the results, causing a series of political violence and alleged human rights abuses in the state.The alleged abuse amounted to Crimes Against Humanity that ought to be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague.In addition to politically motivated murders, the ruling party has tended to harass the opposition at every opportunity they get, according to the petition.The Steve Ugbah Committee of Friends, the US-based Nigerians, which included Ugbah's wife, Stevelina, herself also a US Professor and Dr. Baba Adam, a former PRONACO US leader, sent the petition to the UN body.In it, they said: 'We are requesting that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to investigate and hold culpable people or groups of people in the Benue State government, especially the leadership responsible for these gross violations of human rights, which include the murder of unarmed civilians.'They addedthat, 'in the last six months, several unarmed civilians have been murdered in Benue State, Nigeria, seemingly with the approval of the incumbent state governor,' whose government allegedly failed to act in protection of life of citizens.The petitioners insist that, 'unarmed civilian killing thrives where its occurrence receives little or no response from the government, as well as failure to address the root causes and bring perpetrators to justice.'Recalling that Nigeria is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the petitioners noted that, 'Nigeria has a responsibility to take appropriate actions as recommended by the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations to protect life, investigate such crimes and bring perpetrators to justice.The US-based Nigerians say those who had been killed in Benue State 'are supporters of the opposition political party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Benue State.'They included the murders ofMr. Charles Ayede on May 13, 2011, and Mr. Celestine Ahemba Agber alongside with his cousin, Mr. Shangev Orayor said to have been brutally murdered on October 17, 2011.'These three politically motivated murders in Benue State fall under the violations of the OHCHR's Rule of Law mandate,' the petitioners declared.When Prof. Ugbah, according to his American supporters, complained about the murder of Mr. Ayede, and voluntarily responded to an invitation by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, 'Prof. Ugbah was arrested on May 23, 2011, at the Nigeria Police headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.''Prof. Ugbah's arrest was ordered by his political opponent, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State,' they alleged.The petitioners asked that the UN OHCHR 'investigate and charge Dr. Gabriel Suswam, Governor of Benue State (Peoples Democratic Party ' PDP chieftain in Benue State), and Gen. David Mark, Senate President (Benue citizen ' PDP chieftain) and any of their accomplices, who was directly involved with these crimes.
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