News
Nine genocides around the world
The UN-backed court set up to try Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge leaders over the country’s genocidal 1970s regime issued its last verdict on Thursday, when it upheld the genocide conviction of the regime’s last leader.
Here is a summary of other genocides recognised by the international community and courts or individual states:
Namibia: first genocide
Germany in 2021 acknowledged it had committed genocide in colonial-era Namibia in southwest Africa.
German settlers killed tens of thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908, a massacre historians called the 20th century’s first genocide.
Armenia
Armenia says Ottoman Turk forces killed up to 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1917, during World War I.
It has long sought international recognition of this as genocide, backed by around 30 countries.
The charge is vehemently rejected by Turkey, which admits nonetheless that up to 500,000 Armenians were killed in fighting, massacres or by starvation during mass deportations from eastern Anatolia.
Cambodia
During a four-year reign of terror by the Maoist Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979, some two million people died from starvation, mass executions and overwork.
In 2018, a UN-sponsored tribunal in Cambodia convicted the two top surviving leaders of the regime, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, of genocide.
Nuon Chea has since died and 91-year-old Samphan appealed but on Thursday the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) upheld his conviction.
The ruling will be the last given by the tribunal, winding up a 16-year-process dogged by criticisms for costliness, slowness, and bringing limited solace to survivors.
Rwanda
The Rwandan genocide began in early April 1994, shortly after the ethnic Hutu president was killed when his plane was shot down in an attack blamed by the government on Tutsi rebels.
At least 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and some moderate Hutus, were slaughtered over the following 100 days, according to the United Nations.
The UN set up the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the Tanzanian city of Arusha. It issued the world’s first genocide conviction in 1998.
Since then, courts in the United States, Canada and several European countries have also convicted Rwandan fugitives over their role in the bloodshed.
Srebrenica
The 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, eastern Bosnia, of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces was recognised as a genocide by the International Court of Justice, the UN’s top legal body, in 2007.
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and military chief Ratko Mladic were handed life sentences for genocide by a special UN court.
Sudan
In 2021, Sudan said it planned to hand over to the International Criminal Court ex-president Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for genocide over fighting that erupted in the western Darfur region in 2003.
The UN estimates that the Darfur conflict left 300,000 people dead.
Yazidis in Iraq
Islamic State jihadists in 2014 carried out a massacre of Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking community in northwestern Iraq.
In 2021, a German court convicted an Iraqi jihadist of “genocide”.
The parliaments of several Western states have also termed the crimes “genocide”.
Rohingya in Myanmar
Around one million members of Myanmar’s mostly Muslim Rohingya community fled the Buddhist-majority country for Bangladesh since August 2017, amid reports of rape, murder and arson.
Myanmar has been accused of “genocide” by The Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The International Criminal Court has also opened a probe, and in March the US declared the violence against the Rohingya constituted genocide.
Uyghurs in China
Lawmakers in several western countries have denounced a “genocide” by China of the Uyghur minority in western Xinjiang province.
Rights groups say at least one million people from mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in “re-education camps” in Xinjiang.
A UN report earlier this month said the abuses could constitute “crimes against humanity” but avoided the term genocide.
China has denied any wrondoing, saying it is running vocational training centres to counter extremism.
The Kano State House of Assembly has initiated impeachment proceedings against Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and breach of public trust.
The notice was presented yesterday during plenary by the Majority Leader, Lawan Hussaini Dala, who said the action follows Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dala said the allegations stem from Abdussalam’s tenure as Commissioner for Local Government (2023–2024) and his current role as deputy governor. He accused the deputy governor of diverting funds meant for the 44 local government councils.
According to the majority leader, Abdussalam allegedly received N1.5 million monthly from each council between June 2023 and January 2024, totaling N462 million. Between February and July 2024, he allegedly collected N3.255 million monthly from each council under the guise of special assignments, amounting to N726 million.
Dala also accused the deputy governor of abuse of office, claiming he facilitated payments of N10 million from each council to NovoMed Pharmaceuticals Limited, totaling N440 million, in violation of state procurement laws.
“The misuse of official capacity to confer undue advantage constitutes abuse of power and undermines public trust,” Dala told lawmakers, adding that the allegations amount to gross misconduct under the Constitution.
The impeachment notice was reportedly endorsed by 38 lawmakers, meeting the constitutional threshold to proceed. The Speaker has acknowledged receipt, and the House is expected to serve the allegations on the deputy governor.
If approved, a panel may be constituted by the state Chief Judge to investigate the claims.
As of filing, Abdussalam had yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, on Wednesday inaugurated a seven-member committee on the establishment of state police, giving it four weeks to submit its report.
The inauguration was held during his maiden conference with senior police officers at the Peacekeeping Conference Centre, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Charging members of the panel to discharge their duties with professionalism and objectivity, Disu described the assignment as “both significant and timely,” noting that it would shape the framework through which state policing may operate in Nigeria.
“In carrying out this assignment, your deliberations must be guided by professionalism, objectivity, and a clear appreciation of the unique complexities of policing a diverse nation such as our own,” the IGP said.
He stated that if properly designed and effectively implemented, state policing holds significant potential benefits for the country.
“By bringing law enforcement closer to communities, state police institutions can deepen local knowledge of security dynamics and enable quicker and more targeted responses to emerging threats,” he added.
The committee is expected to review existing policing models within and outside Nigeria, assess community security needs and emerging risks, and propose an operational framework for the establishment and coordination of state police structures.
It will also address issues relating to recruitment, training, standards and resource allocation, as well as develop accountability and oversight mechanisms to ensure professionalism and public trust.
The panel is chaired by Olu Ogunsakin, with Bode Ojajuni as secretary. Other members are Emmanuel Ojukwu, Okebechi Agora, Suleyman Gulma, Ikechukwu Okafor and Tolulope Ipinmisho.
Disu said the committee had about four weeks to conclude its assignment and submit a comprehensive report.
The move marks one of the first major steps taken by the new police chief since his appointment and confirmation a few days ago.
The development comes amid rising security concerns across the country, with several stakeholders advocating state policing as part of measures to tackle insecurity.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier asked the National Assembly to commence the process of amending relevant laws to pave the way for the creation of state police.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday swore in Olatunji Disu as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
Disu took the oath of office at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
The President also administered the oath of office to six commissioners of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and two commissioners of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).
The ceremonies were witnessed by ministers, senior government officials and family members of the appointees.
The council meeting began shortly after the swearing-in.
In attendance were Vice President Kashim Shettima; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs EsthMrs.Walson-Jack.
Disu was appointed acting IGP on February 25, 2026, by President Tinubu, following the resignation of former IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
His appointment was subsequently endorsed by the Nigeria Police Council (NPC).
The former Assistant Inspector-General of Police assumed office last Wednesday.
He previously served as Assistant Inspector-General in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Alagbon, Lagos, after his promotion to the rank last year.
A former head of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Disu has pledged to deliver accountable, modern and professional policing.
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