By Ise-Oluwa Ige

ABUJA—A Judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice Mrs. Akua Kuenyehia yesterday disclosed that the ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute the masterminds of crimes against humanity taking place in the Niger Delta if Nigeria sends a petition to it for intervention.

Kueyehia is in Abuja for a two –day judicial colloquium on Reproductive Rights and the Statute of the ICC organized by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), Open Society Justice Initiative and Macarthur Foundation.

She specifically said yesterday that the Court would not ordinarily intervene in the crisis in the Niger Delta except a petition was sent to the Prosecutor of the Court.

She, however, pointed out that Nigeria was a state party to the Rome Statute which established the ICC and therefore had unfettered access to the court.

Few days ago, the Federal Government disclosed that it had got the names of those sponsoring the violence in the Niger Delta region.

Although President Yar’Adua promised to release the names but up till now, the list is yet to be made public.