ECOWAS Court orders Nigeria to release detainee held for 16 years, pay N20m compensation

The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered Nigeria to release a businessman, Moses Abiodun, who has been detained for 16 years without charge.

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The court, in its judgement delivered Thursday, also ordered the Nigerian government to pay Mr Abiodun N20 million as compensation for the grave violation of his rights by detaining him without trial since 2009.

According to the court’s three-member panel, led by Sengu Mohamed Koroma, the applicant’s detention without charge not only constituted a violation of his rights but also amounted to anticipatory punishment.

Also on the panel were Gbéri-bè Ouattara and Edward Amoako Asante, who was the judge rapporteur, a statement from the court’s press unit said on Thursday.

The applicant filed the suit against the Nigerian government in 2022, alleging that he was arrested by operatives of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian police in November 2008.

He said he was detained since his arrest in 2008, initially for five months without charge, and subsequently on a remand order issued on 23 March 2009 by a magistrate’s court in Lagos State.

SARS was disbanded in 2020 after a widespread outcry which led to the #EndSARS protests fuelled by a pent-up public anger against the police unit notorious for the inhuman activities of its operatives.

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According to Mr Abiodun, despite the passage of 16 years, he was never charged in court, tried, or convicted of any offence.

He contended that his prolonged detention violated his rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international instruments to which Nigeria is a party.

In its rebuttal to the suit, the Nigerian government questioned the authenticity of the remand warrant presented by the applicant and challenged the admissibility of the case.

Court’s decision

Delivering judgement, the court affirmed its jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Upon examining the merits of the case, the court held that the applicant’s continued detention for about 16 years without charge or trial constituted a grave violation of his right to liberty under Article 6 of the African Charter and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

It added that the prolonged unlawful detention infringed on his right to freedom of movement, as guaranteed under Article 12 of both the African Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

On the alleged violation of his right to fair trial, the court equally held that detaining a person for 16 years without formal charges or a fair and timely trial was an egregious violation of Article 7(1)(d) of the African Charter.

It also held that Mr Abiodun’s continued detention without trial amounted to anticipatory punishment and constituted inhuman and degrading treatment, in breach of Article 5 of the African Charter and Article 7 of the ICCPR.

Alongside ordering the applicant’s immediate release, the court awarded him N20 million compensation for the violations suffered.

Cases of police brutality

The defunct SARS, established to tackle crimes related to armed robbery and kidnapping, became notorious for unlawful arrests and detention, extortion and extrajudicial killings which led to the October 2020 nationwide #EndSARS protests.

During the protests, Nigerians trooped to the streets in different parts of the country leading to the disbandment of the police unit.

READ ALSO: ECOWAS Court dismisses suit seeking repeal of Nigeria’s vagrancy laws

In July last year, the ECOWAS Court held the Nigerian government liable for the violation of the rights of citizens during the #EndSARS anti-police brutality demonstrations at Lekki Tollgate, Lagos, the epicentre of the nationwide protests.

But since after the protests, police brutality has persisted in Nigeria.

In December 2024, the ECOWAS Court ordered the Nigerian government to compensate Oluwatimilehin Adebayo with N5 million for the violation of his right to freedom from torture after being subjected to brutality by police officers in Ogun State.