ECOWAS COURT ORDERS NIGERIA TO PAY N20 MILLION TO MAN DETAINED 16 YEARS WITHOUT TRIAL
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the Federal Republic of Nigeria to pay ₦20 million in compensation to Mr. Moses Abiodun, a Nigerian businessman who was unlawfully detained for 16 years without trial.
In a judgment delivered in the suit Moses Abiodun v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (ECW/CCJ/APP/56/22), the regional court found that Nigeria violated Mr. Abiodun’s fundamental human rights, including his rights to liberty, freedom of movement, fair trial, and protection from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, all of which are guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international legal instruments.
Mr. Abiodun was arrested in November 2008 by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and was subsequently remanded by a magistrate court in Lagos on March 23, 2009, on provisional charges of conspiracy and armed robbery. Since then, he was neither formally charged nor brought before a court of competent jurisdiction for trial.
Represented by his counsel, Chigozie Uzodinma, the applicant told the court that his prolonged detention amounted to a grave miscarriage of justice and a blatant breach of due process. In response, the Nigerian government denied knowledge of SARS and questioned the authenticity of the remand warrant submitted. However, the court dismissed these objections and accepted the certified true copy of the order provided by the applicant.
Delivering judgment, the court asserted its jurisdiction under Article 9(4) of the Court’s Rules and held that the matter was not statute-barred, emphasizing that human rights violations are not subject to time limitations. The panel concluded that Nigeria’s failure to charge or try Mr. Abiodun over a 16-year period was not only unjustifiable but also constituted a serious violation of his human dignity and legal rights.
The court, therefore, awarded Mr. Abiodun ₦20 million in damages and strongly condemned the prolonged detention as an egregious abuse of state power. The ruling underscores the ECOWAS Court’s continued role in upholding justice and human rights within the region.
In Suit No: ECW/CCJ/APP/56/22, Moses Abiodun vs Federal Republic of Nigeria, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has awarded ₦20 million in damages to Mr. Moses Abiodun, a Nigerian businessman, for the violation of his fundamental human rights after being held in detention for 16 years without trial.
Presiding over the case was a three-member panel of judges led by Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Community Court, alongside Justice Gbéri-bé Ouattara (Member) and Justice Edward Amoako Asante (judge Rapporteur)
The panel unanimously found that the prolonged detention of Mr. Abiodun constituted egregious violations of internationally guaranteed rights.
Mr. Abiodun, represented by counsel Chigozie Uzodinma, was arrested in November 2008 by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and detained for several months. On March 23, 2009, he was remanded by a magistrate court in Lagos on provisional charges of conspiracy and armed robbery.
Since then, he has neither been formally charged nor brought to trial.
The applicant alleged violations of his rights to liberty, freedom of movement, fair trial, and protection from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party.
The respondent denied knowledge of the SARS unit and questioned the authenticity of the remand warrant provided by the applicant.
However, the court accepted a certified true copy of the remand order submitted by Mr. Abiodun, dismissing claims of forgery.
The panel affirmed the court’s jurisdiction based on Article 9(4) of its Rules, recognized the applicant’s victim status, and ruled that the case was not statute-barred, citing that time limitations do not apply in cases of 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
Violation of the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment
The court held that 16 years of detention without trial was unjustifiable, inhumane, and a clear breach of international human rights obligations.
Accordingly, the panel, under the leadership of Justice Koroma, ordered the Federal Republic of Nigeria to pay N20 million in compensation to Mr. Abiodun.
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