President Bola Tinubu has sent two bills to the House of Representatives. These bills aim to improve Nigeria’s laws for prosecuting genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The bills are meant to adopt important international legal rules and create laws for punishing serious crimes under Nigerian law.
The president wrote a letter on 6 October to the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen. This letter was read during a House session on Tuesday.
In the letter, titled “Transmission of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols Bill, 2026 and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Enforcement) Bill, 2026 for consideration,” he referenced Section 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“Pursuant to Section 58(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), I forward herewith the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols Bill, 2026 and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Enforcement) Bill, 2026 for the kind consideration of the House of Representatives,” Mr Tinubu stated.
The Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols Bill aims to repeal the current Geneva Conventions Act, Cap. G3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. It will also enforce the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and two Additional Protocols adopted on 8 June 1977.
The Geneva Conventions set rules for protecting people during armed conflicts. This includes wounded and sick soldiers, prisoners of war, and civilians. The Additional Protocols build on these protections and add more rules for how to conduct fighting.
The proposed law will update Nigeria’s legal system to meet these international humanitarian law obligations.
The second bill, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Enforcement) Bill, 2026, aims to enforce the Rome Statute, which created the International Criminal Court (ICC).
This law will provide for punishing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and related offences in Nigeria. It will also create a legal framework for Nigeria to work with the ICC in its duties.
Genocide involves actions meant to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Crimes against humanity include widespread or systematic attacks against civilian populations. War crimes are serious breaches of the laws of armed conflict.
The ICC prosecutes individuals accused of these crimes when its conditions are met. The new Nigerian laws aim to boost the country’s ability to handle these crimes through its legal system while enabling cooperation with the international court.
Mr Tinubu asked the House to consider the bills quickly.
“While I trust that the House of Representatives will consider the request expeditiously, please accept, Rt. Hon. Speaker, the assurances of my highest regards,” the president said.
Now, the bills will be reviewed by the National Assembly.
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