The Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court of Justice) has awarded N20 million in damages against the Federal Government of Nigeria for violating the fundamental rights of a Nigerian businessman, Moses Abiodun, who was detained for 16 years without trial.

It also declared that the Applicant’s fundamental human rights had been violated.

The panel, comprising Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma (Presiding Judge), Justices Gbéri-bè Ouattara and Edward Amoako Asante, also ordered immediate release of the applicant from detention, where he has been incarcerated since 2009, declaring multiple violations of his fundamental human rights by the Nigerian government.

Abiodun had taken the Federal Government of Nigeria to the ECOWAS Court in a suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/trial for alleged violation of his rights to liberty, freedom of movement and without a fair trial.

The applicant, through his counsel, Chigozie Uzodinma, said he was arrested in November 2008 by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and detained for several months.

He also said that on March 23, 2009, he was remanded by a magistrate’s court in Lagos on provisional charges of conspiracy and armed robbery, and since then, he has neither been formally charged nor taken to court for trial.

The applicant alleged violation 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.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government denied knowledge of the SARS unit and questioned the authenticity of the remand warrant provided by the applicant.

The court admitted a certified true copy of the remand order submitted by Abiodun, dismissing claims of forgery.

The ECOWAS court, which affirmed its jurisdiction based on Article 9 (4) of its Rules, recognised the applicant’s victim status and ruled that the case was not statute-barred. It further said that the time limitations do not apply in cases of human rights violations.

It, therefore, found the Nigerian government liable on all four counts of 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, and violation of the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The court, which held that 16 years of detention without trial was unjustifiable, inhumane, and a clear breach of international human rights obligations, therefore, dismissed the respondent’s claim, affirmed the applicant’s case and thereby awarded N20 million in compensation to Abiodun.