Patience Jonathan won’t appear before ICC -PDP

Patience Jonathan won’t appear before ICC -PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation has said wife
of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, will not appear before the International
Criminal Court.
It said there was no basis for her to be reported to the internal court in the first
place.
Director of Media and Publicity of the organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, stated this
at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
Fani-Kayode was reacting to the claim by the main opposition party, the All
Progressives Congress, that it had reported the First Lady to the ICC.
Patience was reported to have told supporters of the PDP at its rally in Cross
Rivers State to stone anyone canvassing for change in the state.
“Change” is the slogan of the APC.
In its complain to the ICC, the APC through its Director-General, Presidential
Campaign Council, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Governor of Rivers State,
said the wife of the President was calling on the supporters of the ruling party to
attack those of the APC.
But Fani-Kayode described Patience as woman of peace and that her speech
didn’t propel anyone to take into violence.
The former Minister of Aviation added that those that dragged the wife of the
President to ICC were not educated on issue of international law.
He said if they were, they would have known that individuals are not taken to the
court on the basis of their speech.
He said, “It is pertinent to note that, first of all, if they were a little better
educated and had a better understanding of international law and how the ICC
works, they would appreciate the fact that no individual is ever taken to the ICC
based on what he or she has said unless, and until people act on those words and
massacre others.
“It is only if that speech is followed by violence and mayhem or if it incites
people to commit violence, which results in death, mass murder and crimes
against humanity, that the person who indulged in such hate speech becomes an
eligible candidate for the ICC.
“Dame Patience Jonathan is a woman of peace. She did not threaten anyone with
violence; she did not incite anyone to commit violence or to kill others and her
words have not resulted in death, mass murder or any crimes against humanity.
“We therefore completely reject the baseless charge and assertion that she has
called for the killing or slaughter of anyone at any point in time.”
He described the threat to take the First Lady to the ICC as not only absurd but
also what he described as “ranting of a perfidious, desperate, decaying and dying
political party and such threat will amount to nothing.”
He said if anyone was to be taken to the court, it must be the Presidential
Candidate of the APC, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.).
Fani-Kayode also alleged that the APC was planning hate documentary on the
private lives of the President, his wife and that of the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke.
He said the special operations and intelligence wing of his directorate got wind of
the plan.