The Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, has ruled that the Federal Republic of Nigeria violated the human rights of Obianuju Udeh and two others during the peaceful protests at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State on October 20 and 21, 2020.
The court found Nigeria in breach of Articles 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which encompass the rights to life, security of person, freedom of expression, assembly, and association, prohibition of torture, the duty of the state to investigate, and the right to effective remedy.
Judge rapporteur, Justice Koroma Sengu, delivered the judgment, dismissing the allegation that the right to life as guaranteed under Article 4 of the ACPHR was violated.
However, he mandated the Federal Government to pay each applicant N2 million as compensation for violations related to their security of person, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
Justice Sengu also emphasized that the Federal Government must adhere to its obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, investigate and prosecute agents responsible for these violations, and report to the court within six months on measures taken to implement the judgment.
The applicants, Obianuju Udeh, Perpetual Kamsi, and Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka, alleged that these violations occurred during the peaceful protests against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigerian Police Force. The protests were triggered by the alleged killing of Daniel Chibuike and aimed to address police harassment and brutality.
The first applicant, Udeh, claimed that soldiers shot protesters, resulting in deaths and injuries, which she live-streamed. She subsequently received threatening phone calls that forced her into hiding and eventual asylum.
The second applicant, Kamsi, responsible for protesters’ welfare, described how soldiers began shooting after a power cut, leading to her hospitalization due to police tear gas.
The third applicant, Adeyinka, recounted narrowly escaping being shot, observing the refusal of ambulance entry by soldiers, and later witnessing inadequate hospital care for victims.
She argued that she and her colleagues took over the victims’ care and faced ongoing threats and surveillance, believed to be by government agents.
The applicants sought declaratory relief and compensation for these violations. The Federal Government, however, denied all claims, asserting that the protesters unlawfully assembled and that its agents followed strict rules of engagement, not shooting or killing protesters.
In its judgment, the court held that Nigeria breached several articles of the ACPHR, resulting in fundamental human rights violations.
Furthermore, the court declared that the applicants were denied the right to an effective remedy, ordering the Federal Government to make reparations for the violation of their fundamental human rights.
