Crime of all Crimes: An Appraisal of the Crime of Genocide in International Law

The prevalence of the occurrence of violent attacks against protected people in Nigeria has brought about the wide usage of the term genocide. Hence there is a need to have a proper understanding of the term in order to avoid abuse. The term genocide as an international crime is provided for under Articles 6, 2, 4(2) and 2(2) of the Rome Statute, Genocide Convention, ICTY and ICTR Statutes respectively. Genocide is the crime of all crimes.The purpose of this paper is to demystify the concept of genocide through examination of its meaning, historical background, elements, punishment and its application in Nigeria. This paper adopts a doctrinal research methodology by examining primary and secondary sources. This paper finds out that there are two perspectives on the meaning of the crime of genocide; ordinary and legal perspectives. The ordinary perspective on one hands posits the general notion of the term while the legal perspective borders on the definition or meaning given to the term by the relevant international laws such as the Rome Statute, Convention on the Prohibition of the Crime of Genocide etc. The research concludes by clarifying the fog beclouding the concept of genocide through examination of the meaning of the term as provided for in the statute of International Criminal Court and the Convention on the Prohibition of Genocide. Also, reference is made to the jurisprudence of the Criminal Court as regards the definition of the term. As for the elements of the crime, the ICC Element of Crime is considered. The paper recommends the domestication of the Rome Statute in Nigeria corpu juris in order to facilitate the prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime either before the International Criminal Court or domestic court.