The International Criminal Court has dismissed an anonymous petition seeking an investigation into alleged systemic kidnappings in Nigeria as crimes against humanity, ruling that the request lacked any legal basis.
Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC issued the decision on September 1, 2026. The three-member panel, comprising Presiding Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Judges Sergio Godínez and Haykel Mahfoudh, dismissed the petition “in limine,” meaning at the threshold, without examining its substance.
According to the official court record, the Registrar transmitted the petition, titled “Formal Communication Requesting Investigation into Systemic Kidnappings in Nigeria as Crimes Against Humanity,” to the President of the Pre-Trial Division on August 24, 2026. It was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber II on August 26. The chamber concluded that the request was not properly before it.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi welcomed the dismissal but criticised the manner in which the petition was initially processed. In a statement, he said the President of the Pre-Trial Division improperly assigned an unverified filing from an anonymous individual to the chamber under Regulation 46(3) of the Regulations of the Court without first determining the chamber’s competence or whether the communication was manifestly frivolous.
Fagbemi argued that such a procedure undermined safeguards in the court’s regulations and the Rome Statute. He maintained that the authority to evaluate information or request an investigation rests solely with the ICC Prosecutor, or through a formal referral by a State Party or the United Nations Security Council. Neither the President of the Pre-Trial Division nor a Pre-Trial Chamber, he said, has the power under the Rome Statute to receive anonymous petitions or intervene in the internal security affairs of a sovereign nation.
The minister warned that procedural breaches could cast “an unnecessary shadow” over the integrity of the ICC’s judicial processes and strain the relationship between Nigeria and the court. He assured Nigerians that no investigation has been opened against the Nigerian government or its institutions and that the Federal Government remains committed to protecting the country’s sovereignty while cooperating with international institutions within established legal frameworks.
The petition arrives against the backdrop of a sharp rise in kidnapping across Nigeria. According to a report by SBM Intelligence covering July 2025 to June 2026, 7,825 people were abducted in 1,411 kidnapping incidents, a 66 per cent increase from the 4,722 victims recorded in the previous 12-month period. At least 1,142 people were killed in related violence, including 895 civilians, 179 suspected kidnappers and 68 security personnel.
Zamfara State recorded the highest numbers, with 236 incidents and 1,921 victims, accounting for nearly a quarter of all those abducted nationwide. The North-West region led with 680 incidents and 4,771 victims, followed by the North-Central with 309 incidents and the North-East with 211. Mass abductions involving five or more victims made up 79.5 per cent of all those taken.
Kidnappers demanded an estimated N22.86 billion in ransom but collected N7.78 billion, a collection rate of 34 per cent. This marked a sharp increase from the previous cycle, when N48 billion was demanded but only N2.56 billion was paid. A faction of Boko Haram, Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, accounted for about 90 per cent of the ransom collected, largely from two large-scale abductions.
Nigeria has been under preliminary examination by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor for alleged crimes committed in the context of the Boko Haram conflict since 2010. In March 2026, the ICC and Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding affirming Nigeria’s primary responsibility to address such crimes under the principle of complementarity. The Office of the Prosecutor has not sought authorisation to open a full investigation.
The Federal Government has repeatedly stated that it is strengthening domestic mechanisms to prosecute serious crimes. Fagbemi’s statement reaffirmed that the dismissal of the latest petition does not alter Nigeria’s existing relationship with the court or its domestic security efforts.