Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has filed a case against the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, alleging a prolonged pattern of unlawful arrests, detention, travel restrictions and other violations of his fundamental rights under successive military administrations. The suit, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/30/2026, was filed in Abuja. Falana alleges that Nigerian authorities violated his rights to personal liberty, dignity, fair hearing, property and freedom of movement at different times from the 1980s to the 1990s.
Falana is seeking declarations that the alleged actions were unlawful and an award of US$10 million in damages. He is asking the court to assess the conduct of the authorities under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and applicable ECOWAS legal instruments. The allegations have not been determined by the court. Falana has been involved in human rights and public accountability advocacy since his call to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
According to the application, Falana’s first major confrontation with authorities occurred during his National Youth Service Corps year in Oyo State in 1982–1983. He represented University of Ibadan students charged with conspiracy and attempted murder after a dispute involving the university’s vice chancellor. Falana alleges that authorities withheld his NYSC discharge certificate because he defended the students without official permission.
The suit also recounts Falana’s arrest on June 8, 1985, at the Lagos State High Court by armed agents of the then National Security Organisation (NSO). He alleges that the agents took him to his law chambers, searched the premises without a warrant and found nothing incriminating. Falana was held without trial for seven weeks at the NSO facility in Lagos, alongside other political detainees, in “dehumanizing conditions.”
Falana’s application also describes restrictions on his freedom of movement. On October 14, 1991, the SSS prevented him from travelling to Harare, Zimbabwe, to attend a human rights conference and confiscated his international passport for six months. His paper was read at the conference by lawyer Olisa Agbakoba. Additionally, Falana alleges that he was abducted from his Lagos home at about 2 a.m. on April 8, 1990, by SSS officials and abandoned in a bush.
The application further alleges that Falana was arrested in May 1992, alongside Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti and Baba Omojola. He was arrested at the Lagos State High Court on May 19 and held for two days at Bar Beach police station before being flown to Abuja on May 21. Falana and the others were then taken to Kuje Correctional Centre. A judge ordered his release on June 8, 1992, but the military government did not comply.
Falana’s claims also cover his arrest and detention in relation to the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. He, along with Fawehinmi and Ransome-Kuti, were arrested and charged with conspiracy, sedition and incitement. Court orders granting bail were not initially obeyed, and the three remained in detention until their release in August 1993. Falana is seeking redress for these and other alleged rights violations.
Key points
- Femi Falana files case against Nigeria at ECOWAS Court, alleging decades of rights violations
- Falana seeks US$10 million in damages for alleged unlawful arrests, detention and travel restrictions
- The case relates to alleged rights violations under successive military administrations from the 1980s to the 1990s
