ECOWAS COURT RULES GHANA'S DETENTION OF HOMELAND STUDY GROUP MEMBERS UNLAWFUL

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ruled that the detention of 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) by the Government of Ghana was unlawful, arbitrary, and violated their human rights.

In a judgment delivered in Suit No: ECW/CCJ/APP/12/24, the court found that the arrests and extended detentions of the individuals—made on May 8, 2019—under Ghana’s 1976 Prohibited Organizations Decree breached both national and international legal standards.

The case, brought by the HSGF and 30 others, alleged violations of the applicants’ rights stemming from their detention, some of which lasted over a year without trial. The court, presided over by Hon. Justice Ricardo Gonçalves and Justices Sengu M. Koroma and Dupe Atoki, held that it had jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter, as the alleged human rights violations were ongoing and occurred within the ECOWAS Court’s operational timeframe.

However, the court struck out the HSGF as an applicant due to its failure to prove legal personality, citing the absence of registration documentation. The individual applicants, however, were admitted, having demonstrated plausible violations of their right to liberty and protection from arbitrary detention.

While the court acknowledged that the arrests were made under legitimate legal provisions and concerns of national security, it emphasized that the subsequent detentions without timely trial contravened Ghana’s constitutional requirement for court presentation within 48 hours, as well as Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Claims related to the right to self-determination were dismissed. The court ruled that the HSGF, lacking recognized legal personality, could not assert such claims on behalf of a people or community. Similarly, the individual applicants were deemed ineligible to pursue such relief.

As part of its judgment, the court awarded each of the 30 admissible applicants the equivalent of $2,500 in Ghanaian currency as compensation for the unlawful detention. It also directed the Government of Ghana to either prosecute the detainees within two weeks of the ruling or release them unconditionally.

All other reliefs sought were dismissed, and the court ordered both parties to bear their own legal costs.