The Economic Community of West African States Court has directed the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately release Moses Abiodun, a Nigerian businessman who has been detained since 2009 without trial.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, the regional court also ordered the government to pay ₦20 million in compensation for what it described as the “multiple violations” of Abiodun’s fundamental human rights.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria Abiodun initiated the legal action with suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/56/22. He alleged that he was arrested in November 2008 by operatives of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
He further stated that he was initially held for five months without being charged, and later kept in custody based on a remand order issued by a Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on March 23, 2009.
Throughout the 16 years he has spent in detention, Abiodun told the court he has never been formally charged, tried, or convicted of any crime.
He argued that his prolonged incarceration violated his rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory.
More Read
In response, the Nigerian government denied the accusations, questioning the validity of the remand warrant submitted by Abiodun and challenging the admissibility of the case before the ECOWAS Court.
However, in its verdict, the court found that the businessman’s prolonged detention amounted to a serious breach of his right to personal liberty.
The court ruled that this action violated Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The court further noted that his detention contravened his right to freedom of movement, as enshrined in Article 12 of both the African Charter and the ICCPR.
In addition, the judges condemned the prolonged detention without trial as a gross violation of Article 7(1)(d) of the African Charter, which protects individuals from being punished without due process.
The court described Abiodun’s continued incarceration as a form of anticipatory punishment and held that it amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment—an infringement of Article 5 of the African Charter and Article 7 of the ICCPR.
Consequently, the court ordered Abiodun’s immediate release and awarded ₦20 million as compensation for the human rights violations he endured.
The ruling was delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Sengu Koroma, the Court’s Vice President.
The judgment was read by Justice Edward Asante, with Justice Gbéri-bè Ouattara also sitting on the panel.
