SERAP drags Ortom, Aregbesola, 9 governors to ICC for failing to pay salaries

Rights advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights
and Accountability Project has dragged 11
state governors who have been unable to pay
workers salaries to the International Criminal
Court.
The group, in a statement on Thursday by its
Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, listed
the 11 governors it dragged before the ICC as
Rauf Agbesola of Osun State, Olusegun
Mimiko of Ondo State, Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti
State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State,
Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Nyesom Wike
of Rivers State.
Others are Bayelsa's Governor Seriake
Dickson, Samuel Ortom of Benue State,
Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State, Yahaya
Bello of Kogi State and Simon Lalong of
Plateau State.
The group said it had asked the prosecutor of
the ICC, Mrs. Fatou Bensouda, to probe and
try the 11 governors for alleged crime against
humanity involving thousands of Nigerians
stemming from unpaid salaries.
The group in its petition dated July 7, 2016
said that the failure of the 11 governors to
pay workers' salaries had occasioned severe
deprivation, mental and physical health
challenges to workers in their states, which it
argued fell within the definition of crimes
against humanity.
It argued that the governors had breached the
provisions of Article 7(1)(k) of the Rome
Statute of the ICC, which criminalised all
forms of inhumane acts intended to cause
great suffering or serious injury to body or to
mental or physical health.
"SERAP believes that the non-payment of
salaries of workers amounts to a serious
attack on human dignity covered in the
definition of 'other inhumane acts' under the
Rome Statute, and fit within the ICC's
mandate," the statement said.