The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has ruled that Nigeria violated the human rights of Obianuju Udeh and two others.
The court found Nigeria in breach of multiple articles from the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including those concerning the right to life, security of person, freedom of expression, assembly and association, the prohibition of torture, the duty of the state to investigate, and the right to an effective remedy.
Obianuju Udeh, Perpetual Kamsi, and Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka claimed these violations occurred during peaceful protests at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State on October 20 and 21, 2020.
Justice Koroma Sengu, who delivered the judgment, dismissed the claim regarding the violation of the right to life but ordered the Nigerian government to pay each applicant N2 million in compensation for other violations.
The court also directed the government to adhere to its obligations under the African Charter, investigate and prosecute those responsible for the violations, and report back within six months.
The applicants described their experiences during the protests against the SARS unit of the Nigerian Police Force.
Udeh reported that soldiers shot protesters, resulting in deaths and injuries, which she live-streamed. Kamsi, responsible for protester welfare, described being hospitalized due to police tear gas. Adeyinka recounted narrowly escaping being shot and witnessing inadequate hospital care for victims.
The Nigerian government denied the allegations, claiming the protesters unlawfully assembled and that its agents followed strict rules of engagement.
The government argued that Udeh incited the crowd and that Kamsi supported the protest through logistics. It also denied that soldiers inflicted harm or refused ambulance access and maintained that the Lagos State Government managed the treatment of the injured.
The court, while dismissing the claim of a right to life violation, upheld that the Nigerian government breached several articles of the African Charter, resulting in fundamental human rights violations. The court ordered reparations to the applicants for these violations.
