The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice has found the Federal Government of Nigeria guilty of human rights abuses during the #EndSARS protests in October 2020.
In a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of justices, the court ruled on Wednesday that the government’s response to the protests, particularly the disproportionate use of force at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, violated several international human rights standards.
The applicants, Obianuju Catherine Udeh, Perpetual Kamsi, and Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka, sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Court on October 21, 2021, seeking enforcement of their fundamental rights. They were represented by lawyers Bolaji Gabari, Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga, Gaye Sowe, and Nelson Olanipekun.
The applicants alleged that their rights to life, security of person, freedom of expression, assembly, and association, prohibition of torture, duty of the state to investigate, and the right to effective remedy were violated during the peaceful protests at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20 and 21, 2020.
The suit stated:
“Three Applicants who witnessed and were victims of the military and police onslaught that occurred during the #EndSARS protests at Lekki Toll Gate have filed an action before the ECOWAS Court seeking the enforcement of their fundamental rights.
“The Applicants, who continue to suffer untold psychological and mental trauma and threats to life, from that day, have approached the ECOWAS Court, known for its neutrality and adherence to international standards in adjudicating cases, to consider and hold that the rights of the Applicants and other peaceful protesters have been grossly violated by the Nigerian State and its agencies.
“The Applicants seek, amongst others, the declaration that the Nigerian State has violated its obligations under the Nigerian Constitution, international laws, and most especially the African Charter; failed to protect the lives of the Applicants and citizens; protect its citizens from extrajudicial killings and police brutality; and to promote and provide security for its citizens. They argue that the State persistently tolerates and promotes a climate of impunity as a result of its systemic failure to condemn, effectively identify, and secure accountability for a series of grave attacks against the Applicants and people of Nigeria.”
In its lead judgement delivered by Judge Rapporteur Justice Koroma Mohamed Sengu, the court held that Nigeria, through its security agencies, violated Articles 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACPHR).
The court ordered the Federal Government to investigate and prosecute security agents responsible for the violations and to report to the court within six months on measures taken to implement the judgment. Additionally, the government was ordered to pay N2 million in compensation to each victim named in the suit.
The panel included Justice Dupe Atoki, who presided, and Justice Ricardo Claudio Monteiro Gonçalves.
