The
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have filed a petition
at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against eleven state governments in
the country over their failure to pay salaries to their workers.
The
organization in the petition requested the Prosecutor, ICC, Mrs. Fatou
Bensouda, to use her position to investigate allegations of collective
punishment and crimes against humanity against tens of thousands of Nigerian
workers as a result of non-payment of their salaries for several months by
their state governments.
The
affected states are Bayelsa, Benue, Bauchi, Osun, Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara,
Kogi, Ondo, and Plateau states.
In
the petition dated July 7, 2016 and signed by SERAP Executive Director, Mr
Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation expressed concern that non-payment of
workers’ salaries by several state governments in the country has made life
impossible to live for the workers and families.
SERAP
therefore urged the ICC prosecutor, Mrs. Bensouda, “to bring to justice anyone
who is responsible for the inhumane acts committed against Nigerian workers and
prohibited under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to which
Nigeria is a state party.”
The
organization contended many Nigerians now face severe deprivation mental and
physical health challenges as a result of the non-payment of their salaries.
It
said that many governors have continue to hide under the excuse of ‘limited allocations
from Abuja’ to deny these workers the fruit of their labour while the workers’
individual liability have continued to rise.
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