On Wednesday, a three-man panel of Justices from the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) delivered a unanimous verdict regarding the EndSARS protests in Nigeria. The court, led by Judge Rapporteur Justice Koroma Mohamed Sengu, found the Nigerian Federal Government guilty of violating the fundamental human rights of youths involved in the October 2020 EndSARS protests.
The court upheld the claims in a suit filed by three protest participants: Obianuju Catherine Udeh, Perpetual Kamsi, and Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka. It determined that Nigeria, through its security agencies, breached Articles 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACPHR). These articles cover the right 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.
While the court dismissed the Applicants’ claim that their right to life under Article 4 of the ACPHR was violated, it nonetheless ordered the Nigerian government to compensate each Applicant with N2 million for breaches of their security of person, torture, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, as well as their rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. The compensation also covered the government’s failure to investigate human rights violations and provide effective remedies.
The ECOWAS court urged the Federal Government to fulfill its obligations under the ACPHR by investigating and prosecuting agents responsible for the violations. The court mandated that the government report the measures taken to implement the judgment within six months.
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The Applicants had alleged that during the peaceful protests against the SARS Unit of the Nigerian Police Force at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State on October 20 and 21, 2020, the Nigerian government committed several human rights violations.
