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Less than halfway through a two-day HIV/AIDS summit in Nigeria, Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir flew home as activists launched legal action to force his arrest for charges at the International Criminal Court.

Nigeria is a party to the ICC and as such has a legal obligation to arrest Mr. Bashir, who is accused of ten counts of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity linked to the violence in Sudan鈥檚 western Darfur province.

But instead of detaining him, Nigeria鈥檚 government laid out a red carpet welcome with full military honors for Bashir when he arrived late Sunday. The Sudanese leader departed Nigeria Monday night.

Reuben Abati, spokesman for Nigeria鈥檚 president, Goodluck Jonathan, said that Bashir was free to come and go because Nigeria respected an order from the African Union in 2009 that its members should ignore ICC arrest warrants.

The debacle illustrates again the relative powerlessness of the young world court, which has no police force to apprehend those persons it indicts, but must rely on signatory nations to deliver them for trial.

Nigeria鈥檚 refusal to arrest Bashir strengthens impunity for those accused of the world鈥檚 worst crimes, and is a slap in the face for those who continue to suffer the effects of war, the Nigerian Coalition for the ICC said in a statement.

鈥淭he victims of the conflict in Darfur have suffered without justice for more than a decade due in part to the reluctance of some ICC member states to abide by the arrest warrants for Bashir and other ICC suspects in Darfur,鈥� said Chinonye Obiagwu and Theodora Oby Nwankwo, the coalition鈥檚 directors.

鈥淚f Nigeria and other members of the ICC are committed to ending impunity in the world, they must not allow ICC arrest warrants to go unenforced, and at the very least must not accept visits from suspects like Bashir.鈥�

Rights activists including Mr. Obiagwu and Ms. Nwankwo filed a suit early Monday in the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria鈥檚 capital, seeking the arrest of the Sudanese president.

Before the application could be heard, however, Bashir left. A diplomat at Sudan鈥檚 embassy in Abuja told The Associated Press that the president鈥檚 hasty departure had 鈥渘othing to do with鈥� the court application.

Several African nations 鈥� South Africa, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Central Africa Republic 鈥� have said that they would act on the international arrest warrant should the Sudanese president enter their territory.

But there are still many countries that would rather side with the African Union position of non-cooperation with the court than carry out its orders.

Human Rights Watch said that Nigeria now had the 鈥渟hameful distinction鈥� of being the first country in West Africa to welcome Bashir.

Britain, one of Nigeria鈥檚 largest trading partners and a significant donor, said it was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� that the Sudanese president had been hosted in Abuja.

鈥淭his undermines the work of the ICC and sends the victims a dismaying message that the accountability they are waiting for will be delayed further,鈥� Mark Simmonds, Britain鈥檚 Secretary for Africa, said in a statement.

Bashir was indicted in 2009, the first sitting president the ICC鈥檚 prosecutors targeted. Two arrest warrants have been issued against him, in 2009 and 2010.

He is among 30 people 鈥� all Africans 鈥� indicted by the world court, which is facing increasing pressure to widen its prosecutions beyond the continent.

William Ruto, Kenya鈥檚 deputy president, who faces charges linked to his alleged role in organizing election violence in his country in 2008, was told Monday that his case must go ahead at The Hague, where the ICC is located.

Judges ruled against Mr. Ruto鈥檚 request to transfer part of the hearings to Kenya or neighboring Tanzania. Several witnesses against Ruto have disappeared, Fatou Bensouda, the ICC鈥檚 chief prosecutor, said in court Monday.