President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee for a spot among judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ishaq Usman Bello, has failed to get elected.
Bibian Anekwe News reports that Bello, chief judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court, polled 12 votes–the second-lowest–only after Milandou Prosper, a nominee from The Republic of Congo, out of 117 in the first round of the election.
In the second round, Bello garnered only 5 votes out of 110 votes.
The result of the election which was concluded on Thursday, December 17, 2020, was made available on the ICC website.
According to TheCable, the ICC advisory committee on the nomination of judges had earlier ranked Bello low in October, giving the indication that he may not be selected in the final election.
Although the FCT chief judge has a master’s degree in international criminal law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the ICC said Bello lacked knowledge of the workings of the court.
Only Korner Joanna and Lordkipanidze Gocha, nominees of the United Kingdom and Georgia respectively, were elected judges out of the 18 candidates.
Bibian Anekwe News recalls that President Buhari had in June this year recommended Justice Bello for an appointment at the ICC position.
Bello has over 35 years of experience as a legal practitioner, and has handled huge special responsibilities under the judiciary including; chairing election petition tribunals, representing Nigeria and leading judges to attend conferences, symposiums, and seminars around the world.
Bello has also served on several bar and bench committees before his appointment as a member of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal which has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
The ICC sits in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC, however, lacks universal territorial jurisdiction, and may only investigate and prosecute crimes committed within member states, nationals of member states, or crimes in situations referred to the court by the United Nations security council.
