ECOWAS court orders FG to pay ₦10m over student’s illegal detention 

The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the Federal Government to pay ₦10m in compensation to Glory Okolie for her unlawful detention and maltreatment by the police.

The judgment, delivered on Thursday, November 21, 2024, also directed the government to implement measures to prevent future human rights violations.

Okolie, a Nigerian student, was arrested on June 13, 2021, and detained without judicial authorisation.

According to the case filed by Okolie alongside the One Love Foundation and the Incorporated Trustees of Behind Bars Human Rights Foundation, she was denied legal representation, subjected to forced labour, and physically abused during her detention.

The applicants argued that these actions violated provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Revised ECOWAS Treaty.

They sought justice for the breaches and reparations for the inhumane treatment meted out to Okolie.

In its defence, the Federal Government claimed that Okolie was associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra, a group proscribed in Nigeria for alleged terrorist activities.

The government argued that her detention was necessary for national security.

In an email sent to our correspondent by the court, Justice Ricardo Gonçalves ruled that Okolie’s prolonged detention without judicial oversight violated her fundamental rights to liberty and a fair trial as enshrined in Articles 6 and 7 of the African Charter.

The court described her treatment as a clear abuse of human rights.

“The court, therefore, ordered the government to pay Glory Okolie ₦10 million in damages and to cease all forms of harassment against her. It also stressed the need for safeguards to prevent a recurrence of such acts,” the statement read..

However, the court dismissed the claims of the two co-applicant NGOs due to procedural issues.

“The three-member panel that presided over the case included Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves (presiding and judge rapporteur), Honourable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma, and Honourable Justice Edward Amoako Asante,” the statement added.