The Northern Intelligentsia Network has threatened to drag Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal, before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over alleged complicity in the wave of killings, abductions and destruction perpetrated by bandits in the state.
In a statement issued on Friday by its president, Dr. Aminu Shehu, the group accused Governor Lawal of aiding and abetting atrocities against women and children through his actions and inactions, warning that his recent comments have reinforced their belief that he is culpable.
“Governor Dauda Lawal has openly admitted that he knows where the bandits are operating from, yet he has refused to provide this intelligence to security agencies,” Shehu said.
“Instead, he throws up excuses about not having control over the police. Such deliberate withholding of critical intelligence, at a time when communities are being ravaged, amounts to aiding and abetting. It is not merely negligence—it is complicity.”
The group said Lawal’s posture violates both his constitutional oath to protect the lives and property of citizens and international humanitarian law provisions designed to safeguard civilians in conflict.
“Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to which Nigeria is a state party, the widespread and systematic targeting of civilians constitutes crimes against humanity. By withholding actionable intelligence and failing to mobilise effective countermeasures, Governor Lawal has crossed the threshold into culpable complicity in these crimes,” the statement reads.
The Northern Intelligentsia Network cited reports from rural communities in Maradun, Anka, Shinkafi and Tsafe local government areas where women have been raped, children mutilated, and entire settlements torched.
“These atrocities are not isolated events. They are systematic and targeted against vulnerable civilian populations. Article 7 of the Rome Statute is explicit: a leader who knowingly permits such sustained attacks shares responsibility for them,” Shehu said.
The group argued that Governor Lawal’s statements betray a troubling abdication of responsibility.
“It is unacceptable for a sitting governor to confess knowledge of bandits’ hideouts while refusing to act or share intelligence. This silence and inaction have emboldened the perpetrators and deepened the suffering of ordinary Zamfara people,” the statement added.
According to the group, Lawal’s stance also undermines the principles of the Geneva Conventions, which oblige state authorities to take all feasible measures to protect civilian populations in situations of armed conflict.
“Other states with similar challenges have devised creative strategies to complement federal security efforts, from empowering local vigilance groups to fostering intelligence-sharing mechanisms. In Zamfara, however, the governor has chosen denial, blame-shifting and silence,” Shehu stated.
The group announced that it is assembling a team of Nigerian and international lawyers to file a petition at the ICC, documenting what it described as “a slow-motion atrocity” unfolding in Zamfara.
“This petition will contain testimonies from victims, corroborated reports by humanitarian organisations, and evidence of the governor’s wilful refusal to discharge his duty. Under the doctrine of command responsibility recognised by the Rome Statute, political leaders who enable or fail to prevent atrocities can and must be held accountable,” Shehu said.
The group insisted that international accountability was now inevitable.
“When leaders become part of the problem rather than the solution, when they normalise slaughter by inaction or selective action, they must answer before international tribunals. We will not relent until justice is secured for the victims of Zamfara,” the statement read.
The group also urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene decisively in Zamfara, describing the crisis as a threat to regional stability.
“Zamfara is becoming a killing field. If nothing is done, the violence will spill further into the North-West and beyond,” Shehu warned.
The group concluded by calling on civil society, religious leaders and the international community to stand with victims of banditry in Zamfara.
“We cannot afford to be silent in the face of this slow genocide. International humanitarian law is clear: leaders who enable or tolerate such acts must be held to account. Governor Lawal’s refusal to act has placed him squarely within that bracket,” the group declared.
