A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has initiated a $10m damages suit against the Federal Government of Nigeria before the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States. The suit, filed at the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, alleges that the Federal Government subjected him to unlawful arrests and detention, restrictions on his freedom of movement, and other violations of his rights between the 1980s and 1990s.
Falana's legal action, designated ECW/CCJ/APP/30/2026, specifically hinges on alleged violations of his rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person, fair hearing, property, and freedom of movement under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The senior lawyer is asking the regional court to make declarations that the alleged violations were unlawful and unconstitutional and to award him $10 million in damages.
According to Falana, his major confrontation with the Federal Government took place during his National Youth Service Corps programme in Oyo State between 1982 and 1983. He represented students of the University of Ibadan who had been charged with conspiracy and attempted murder. Although he completed his service, Falana declared that the Federal Government withheld his NYSC discharge certificate because of his defence of the students.
The case was eventually decided in favour of the students, as cited in the decision Andrew Ogor & Ors v Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Kolawole & Anor (1983) NCLR 142. Falana also alleged that on June 8, 1985, armed agents of the then National Security Organisation arrested him at the premises of the Lagos State High Court and subsequently took him to his chambers, where they conducted a search without a warrant.
Falana revealed that he was detained for seven weeks alongside other political detainees before his release on August 30, 1985, following the military coup that brought General Ibrahim Babangida to power. The Babangida administration subsequently changed the name of the NSO to the State Security Service and established the Justice Samson Uwaifo Panel to investigate cases of detention. Falana appeared before the panel and alleged that the security authorities gave an inaccurate explanation for his detention.
The senior lawyer insisted that the SSS prevented him from travelling to Harare, Zimbabwe, in October 1991 to attend a human rights conference. The security agency confiscated his international passport and retained it for six months. Falana also stated that he was abducted from his Lagos residence at about 2am on April 8, 1990, by persons he identified as SSS officials, who drove him towards the Lagos-Epe road and abandoned him in a bush.
Falana's suit against the Federal Government highlights alleged long-standing human rights abuses against the senior lawyer. The ECOWAS Court will determine the validity of Falana's claims and whether the Federal Government indeed violated his fundamental rights.
Key points
- The suit filed by Falana is seeking $10 million in damages.
- The alleged human rights violations occurred between the 1980s and 1990s under various military administrations.
- The ECOWAS Court will determine the validity of Falana's claims.
