Crime & Court
After ruling, ICC moves to probe for war crimes in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Published
5 years agoon
By
Mega IconThe International Criminal Court’s ruling that it has jurisdiction over the situation in the Palestinian territories opens the way to it investigating alleged war crimes committed in the 2014 Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza.
The 50-day war, which devastated the coastal enclave and left 2,251 dead on the Palestinian side, mostly civilians, and 74 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers, has already been the subject of a five-year preliminary ICC probe and a string of critical reports.
Here is a look at previous reports and probes into the war between the Jewish state and Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza:
ICC preliminary probe
In January 2015, ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda launched a preliminary examination into whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant opening war crimes investigations into the conflict. The examination involved both Israeli and Palestinian actions.
That long-running probe looked at the 2014 war and later at violence near the Israel-Gaza border in 2018.
In December 2019, the prosecutor said she wanted to open a full investigation, having been “satisfied that war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip”, without specifying the perpetrators of the alleged crimes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that position made the Hague-based court, which Israel has refused to sign up to since its creation in 2002, a “political tool” against the Jewish state.
Bensouda said she would first ask the ICC to make a jurisdictional ruling on the matter, due to “unique and highly contested legal and factual issues attaching to this situation”.
On Friday, the ICC ruled it had jurisdiction over the situation in “territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank”.
Netanyahu again slammed the court, calling the ruling “anti-Semitic”, while the Palestinians — who became a state party to the court in 2015 — hailed it as “victory for justice”.
UN reports
On June 23, 2015, a report by a UN Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict says it received “credible allegations” that both Israeli and Palestinian militants committed war crimes during the war.
The report followed a UN Security Council document published on April 27, 2015, that blamed the Israeli military for seven strikes on UN schools in Gaza that were used as shelters. Forty-four people were killed.
The independent experts who compiled the report also found that UN schools, while vacant at the time, were in three cases used to hide Palestinian weapons. In two of the cases, militants probably fired on Israeli soldiers from the establishments, the report found.
Rights groups
International human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, also accused both sides of war crimes.
In late 2014, London-based Amnesty said it documented eight instances in which Israeli forces attacked homes in Gaza “without warning”, killing at least 104 civilians, and alleged that the destruction of four multi-storey buildings late in the war breached international humanitarian law.
It also said “Palestinian armed groups also committed war crimes” in indiscriminately firing thousands of rockets into Israel, actions which left six civilians dead.
In May 2015, it accused Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, of war crimes against fellow Palestinians to “settle scores” during the war, notably the execution of at least 23 people.
US-based Human Rights Watch said in September 2014 that in three cases it examined, Israel caused “numerous civilian casualties in violation of the laws of war”.
The incidents were the separate shellings of two UN schools in northern Gaza on July 24 and 30, and a guided missile strike on another UN school in the southern city of Rafah on August 3.
The attacks killed a total of 45 people including 17 children, HRW said.
Israeli reports and investigations
Israel in June 2015 defended its conduct in the Gaza war as both “lawful” and “legitimate” in a detailed inter-ministerial report.
The authors acknowledged that “numerous civilians were caught in the hostilities”, but they added Israel “did not intentionally target civilians or civilian objects”.
Israeli military authorities carried out their own investigations into the conduct of their troops during the war and in April 2015 announced three soldiers had been charged with looting.
Source: Channels TV
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Crime & Court
Joshua crash: Driver faces fresh charges as court adjourns trial
Published
7 days agoon
April 16, 2026By
Mega IconThe Ogun State Magistrate’s Court sitting in Sagamu has adjourned the trial of the driver involved in the road crash that affected former heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, to June 2, 2026.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Olufunilayo Somefun, fixed the new date to allow the prosecution to file fresh charges in the case.
The defendant, Adeniyi Mobolaji, is facing a four-count charge bordering on dangerous and negligent driving resulting in death.
It was gathered that the matter had been adjourned about four times to enable the prosecuting counsel, G. O. Ogunyomi, amend the charges before the court.
Mobolaji was accused of reckless and negligent driving, contrary to Section 6(1) of the relevant law, as well as driving without due care and attention, causing bodily harm, and damage to property under Section 7(1).
He was also alleged to have driven without a valid national driver’s licence, contrary to Section 10(1) of the Federal Highway Act.
Ruling on the prosecution’s application for adjournment, the magistrate granted the request and fixed June 2 for proper hearing. The defence counsel did not oppose the application.
Speaking after the proceedings, counsel to the defendant, Abiodun Olalekan, said the adjournment was necessary to ensure justice for all parties involved.
The 46-year-old defendant was involved in the fatal crash that claimed the lives of Joshua’s personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and strength and conditioning coach, Sina Ghami, along the Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway on December 29, 2025.
The Lexus SUV conveying the boxer collided with a stationary truck, leaving Joshua and the driver with minor injuries.
Joshua was later discharged from the hospital after being certified clinically stable.
The deaths of Ayodele and Ghami drew widespread reactions within the international boxing community, where both men were regarded as key figures in Joshua’s camp.
Their remains were subsequently repatriated to the United Kingdom, where a funeral prayer was held on January 4, 2026, at the London Central Mosque.
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Crime & Court
NDLEA Ends 15-Year Hunt for Alleged Drug Lord in Lagos
Published
2 months agoon
March 5, 2026By
Mega IconThe National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 58-year-old alleged drug lord, Uzoma Valentine Ilomuanya, who had reportedly been on the agency’s wanted list and that of British authorities for over 15 years.
Ilomuanya was apprehended in Lagos on Monday, February 23, 2026, following what the agency described as a high-level, coordinated operation by officers of its Special Operations Unit.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi.
Babafemi said the suspect’s arrest ended a prolonged manhunt linked to his alleged involvement in drug trafficking activities across Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
According to the statement, Ilomuanya was first arrested in February 2003 in the United Kingdom and convicted for drug trafficking.
He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment but was released after serving two years following a successful appeal.
Babafemi added that the suspect was again arrested in the UK in July 2011 over drug-related offences.
He said, “He was granted administrative bail but jumped jurisdiction and fled to Nigeria.
“Typical of a recidivist, Ilomuanya was in November 2018 arrested in Nigeria by NDLEA operatives following the discovery of two clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in his Obinugwu, Orlu Local Government Area country home in Imo State and at his No. 3 Barrister Declan Uzoma Close, Lagos residence where officers recovered 77.960 kilograms of methamphetamine and extensive production equipment.
“He was subsequently charged before a Federal High Court in Lagos, after which he jumped court bail and has been on the run since then.”
Reacting to the development, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the arrest as a major breakthrough in the agency’s ongoing war against drug trafficking networks.
Marwa said the operation demonstrated the agency’s resolve to track down criminal elements regardless of how long they evade the law.
He said, “This arrest serves as a stern warning to those who think they can hide behind borders to escape justice.
“Whether you jump bail in London or set up clandestine labs in your village, the long arm of the NDLEA will eventually catch up with those who choose to undermine the health, security, and future of our nation.
“We remain committed to our international collaborations to ensure that Nigeria is not used as a sanctuary for global drug lords.”
Marwa also commended officers of the Special Operations Unit for their professionalism and persistence in tracking down the suspect.
He added that the agency would continue to strengthen intelligence-driven operations and international cooperation to dismantle drug trafficking networks operating within and beyond Nigeria.
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Crime & Court
Court Acquits Suspended DCP Kyari, Faults NDLEA Over Weak Evidence
Published
2 months agoon
March 5, 2026By
Mega IconThe Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday discharged and acquitted a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, of a 23-count charge bordering on alleged non-declaration of assets filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations against the defendants.
Kyari was arraigned alongside his two brothers, who were accused of swearing to false affidavits in an alleged attempt to conceal the origin of certain properties.
However, the court ruled that the anti-drug agency failed to establish that the properties allegedly not declared by Kyari were actually owned by him.
Justice Omotosho explained that ownership of landed property could be established through traditional history, title documents, acts of possession, or possession by connection.
According to the judge, the prosecution did not present any of these forms of evidence to prove that the properties located at Fountain Estate in Karsana, said to belong to Ramatu Kyari, were owned by the suspended police officer.
The court also held that the prosecution failed to produce material evidence linking Kyari to properties located on Linda Choko Road in Asokoro, Abuja, as well as properties in Maiduguri, Borno State.
In his defence, Kyari maintained that the properties in Borno State belonged to his late father, who bequeathed them to him and his siblings.
The judge held that the prosecution failed to prove otherwise.
Justice Omotosho also faulted the prosecution for charging Kyari’s brothers with conspiracy, describing the allegation as unsubstantiated.
He described the NDLEA’s case as weak and lacking credible evidence, adding that the defendant had served the country well and should not be subjected to persecution.
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