The Court of the Economic Community of West African States has found the Federal Republic of Nigeria liable over alleged human rights violations during the #EndSARS protests that took place in October 2020.
The Court held that the government’s use of force, most especially at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, violated international human rights standards—the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
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The applicants argued that these violations occurred during the peaceful protests at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State on the 20th and 21st of October, 2020.
Such protests were against police harassment and brutality, and the applicants contended that agents or representatives of the Nigerian government employed force excessively, leading to deaths, injuries, and human rights abuses.
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The court as provided dismissed the count on violation of the right to life but ordered that the Nigerian government compensate each applicant with N2 million for violation of rights. It ordered the government to investigate, at its expense, and prosecute the agents responsible for the violation within six months and to report back to the court.
The applicants had claimed that, amongst others, during the protests, soldiers shot at protesters, causing several deaths and injuries, and further that they were subjected to torture, harassment and intimidation.
The 1st applicant, Obianuju Catherine Udeh, had claimed that she had been driven into hiding and eventually eloped for asylum due to receipt of threatening telephone calls.
The second applicant, Perpetual Kamsi, narrated how the soldiers started shooting when there was a power outage and that she was hospitalized as a result of tear gas fired by the police.
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The third applicant, Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka, narrated how he narrowly escaped being shot and how victims are not given adequate care in the hospital.
The government of Nigeria had denied every allegation brought before it by the applicants, insisting that its agents carefully obeyed the rules of engagement and never shot or killed any protester. In the final analysis, it was found out a good number of articles of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right had been flouted by the Respondent.
