ICC Rejects Petition on Nigeria's Kidnapping Investigations

The International Criminal Court (ICC) dismissed a petition on September 1, 2026, seeking an investigation into alleged systemic kidnappings in Nigeria as crimes against humanity. The petition, filed by an unidentified individual, was rejected by Pre-Trial Chamber II, which found it lacked a legal basis.

The panel, led by Presiding Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala and including Judges Sergio Godínez and Haykel Mahfoudh, received the petition on August 26, after it was forwarded by the court's Registrar on August 24. The decision has drawn criticism from the Nigerian government, particularly from Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.

He questioned how an unverified petition from an anonymous source was assigned to the chamber without establishing the court's jurisdiction or the complaint's merit. Fagbemi expressed concern that this procedural lapse could undermine the ICC's credibility and emphasized that only the ICC Prosecutor or a formal referral could initiate such investigations.