Grants Nigerian Man Damages: The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has awarded N20 million in damages to a Nigerian man, Mr. Moses Abiodun, after he was held in detention for 16 years without trial.
On Thursday, the court also ordered the Nigerian Government to release Mr. Abiodun.
Abiodun brought a lawsuit against the Federal Government of Nigeria before the ECOWAS Court, alleging violations of his rights to liberty, freedom of movement, and a fair trial.
Through his lawyer, Chigozie Uzodinma, the applicant stated that Abiodun was arrested in November 2008 by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and detained for several months.
He was remanded on March 23, 2009, by a magistrate court in Lagos on provisional charges of conspiracy and armed robbery, and since then, he has neither been formally charged nor tried.
The applicant claimed violations of his rights to liberty, freedom of movement, a fair trial, and protection from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, as guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a party.
The respondent denied knowledge of the SARS unit and challenged the authenticity of the remand warrant submitted by the applicant.
However, the court admitted a certified true copy of the remand order provided by Mr. Abiodun and rejected the forgery allegations.
Still on Grants Nigerian Man Damages
The ECOWAS court confirmed its jurisdiction under Article 9(4) of its Rules, acknowledged the applicant’s victim status, and ruled that the case was not barred by statute of limitations.
The court also stated that time limits do not apply in cases involving human rights violations.
On the merits, the court found Nigeria liable on all four counts: violation of the right to liberty, violation of the right to freedom of movement, violation of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time, and violation of the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
The court ruled that 16 years of detention without trial was unjustifiable, inhumane, and a clear violation of International Human Rights obligations.
Consequently, the court dismissed the respondent’s claims, upheld the applicant’s case, and awarded N20 million in compensation to Abiodun.
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