the
Opinion . The Authors submit that their particular interest in the Request arises from
following :
i.
In engaging with Government officials on ICC and AU issues, as well as broader
international justice issues, they need advice on which of the treaty obligations
[under the ICC and the AU] are superior when they conflict. According to the
Authors , "there is such a conflict because the AU, by various Resolutions, has
demanded that its members should not cooperate with the ICC with respect to the
arrest and surrender of President Omar AI-Bashir of Sudan who has been indicted
for crimes under the Rome Statute of the ICC, while at the same time the Statute
creates treaty obligations on its States parties, such as Nigeria , Ghana and other
countries in West Africa, to cooperate with the ICC, especially in the arrest and
surrender of any person indicted by the ICC against whom a warrant of arrest has
been issued, as in the case of President Omar AI-Bashir".
ii.
The Authors work on projects aimed at tackling impunity in Nigeria and in West
Africa, and they rely on the treaty obligations of these countries under the Rome
Statute as well as domestic laws, including the African Charter on Human and
Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act of Nigeria , and other
international and regional instruments.
iii.
In various summits of Heads of State and Government of the AU, between 2011
and 2013, the Union adopted various resolutions calling on its members not to
cooperate with the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC with respect to the arrest
and surrender of President Omar AI-Bashir of Sudan.
the ICC
4. The Authors submit that since 2009, when President AI-Bashir was indicted by
n
and international warrants for his arrest were issued and forwarded to the Nigeria
in
Government, the said President AI-Bashir has entered the territory of Nigeria twice,
the
2009 and in 2013. On both occasions, the Nigerian Government had obligation under
n
Rome Statute to arrest and surrender him to the ICC. At the same time, the Nigeria
3