A northern advocacy group, the Northern Intelligentsia Network, has threatened to petition the International Criminal Court in The Hague against Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, over his alleged failure to address the rising wave of killings, abductions, and destruction linked to banditry in the state.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the group’s president, Dr. Aminu Shehu, accused the governor of complicity, alleging that his inaction amounts to aiding and abetting the crisis. The group also urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene urgently, warning that the deteriorating security situation in Zamfara poses a broader threat to regional peace and stability.
“Governor Dauda Lawal has publicly admitted knowing the hideouts of these bandits, yet he appears reluctant to end the crisis by passing such intelligence to security agencies. Instead, he keeps making excuses about not having control over the police.
“At a time when communities are being ravaged, withholding such critical intelligence is not just negligence, it is complicity,” the statement read.
Dr. Shehu argued that the governor’s actions—or lack thereof—constitute a violation of both his constitutional obligation to protect lives and international humanitarian laws. Citing attacks in Maradun, Anka, Shinkafi, and Tsafe Local Government Areas, the group highlighted gruesome incidents, including rape, mutilation of children, and the burning of entire villages.
“These are not isolated incidents; they are targeted assaults on vulnerable populations. Article 7 of the Rome Statute makes clear that a leader who knowingly permits such sustained attacks shares responsibility for them,” he added.
The group maintained that Governor Lawal’s public comments on his knowledge of bandit hideouts without taking decisive action amount to abdication of leadership. It also accused him of emboldening armed groups through prolonged silence and blame-shifting.
“Other states facing similar challenges have devised creative solutions, from empowering vigilante groups to improving intelligence-sharing. In Zamfara, however, the governor has chosen denial, blame-shifting, and silence,” Shehu said.
According to the group, a team of Nigerian and international legal experts is already being assembled to prepare a petition to the ICC. The petition will reportedly include testimonies from victims, humanitarian reports, and alleged evidence of the governor’s failure to act despite his knowledge of the security situation.
“Under the principle of command responsibility enshrined in the Rome Statute, leaders who enable or fail to prevent atrocities must be held accountable,” the statement noted.
The group warned that international justice mechanisms must come into play when elected leaders “become part of the problem” through persistent inaction.
“Zamfara is fast becoming a killing field, and if urgent steps are not taken, this violence will spread across the North-West and beyond,” it warned.
The Northern Intelligentsia Network concluded by calling on civil society organisations, religious leaders, and the international community to stand in solidarity with victims of insecurity in Zamfara State.
