Falana: Nigeria tops list of countries disregarding ECOWAS judgements

Femi Falana, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has criticised Nigeria’s alleged failure to comply with some judgments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) community court of justice.

Falana was reacting to a recent statement by President Bola Tinubu during the 50th-anniversary celebration of ECOWAS in Lagos.

The president said ECOWAS had promoted democratic principles by observing elections, facilitating mediation, and strengthening institutions like the ECOWAS parliament and court of justice, thereby fostering accountability, the rule of law, and governance focused on the people.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Falana said the reality is far from Tinubu’s claim, saying ECOWAS leaders, including Nigeria, have continued to treat the court’s decisions with disdain.

“With respect, the ECOWAS leaders have failed to uphold democratic norms and rule of law. Hence, the region has continued to witness unconstitutional change of government,” the statement reads.

Falana said “without any legal and political justification whatsoever, the leaders have treated the decisions” of the court with disrespect.

Citing official records from the court as of December 2024, Falana revealed the number of unenforced judgements by member states, with Nigeria topping the list at 44.

He said the list is followed by Togo with 27, Guinea 15, Mali 10, Sierra Leone 9, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal with 8 each, Ghana 6, Benin and Burkina Faso 5 each, Liberia 4, The Gambia 3, and Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau with 1 judgment each.

Falana reminded the ECOWAS leaders that some of their predecessors who once ignored the court’s decisions later turned to the same court to seek protection for their human rights after leaving office.

He said such leaders include Charles Taylor of Liberia, Laurent Gbagbo of Cote D’Ivoire, Boni Yayi of Benin, Mamadou Tanja of Niger, and Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso.

Falana said Mrs Doe, the widow of the late Liberian warlord, Samuel Doe has secured a judgement in the court.

The human rights lawyer said in line with Article 24 of the ECOWAS court, each member state is required to designate a competent national authority to handle the receipt and processing of the execution of the court’s judgements.

He said in 2014, Nigeria appointed the attorney-general and minister of justice as the national authority saddled with the responsibility of complying with the judgements of the court.

Falana said it is the “height of embarrassment” that Nigeria tops the list with the highest number of unenforced judgments at a time Tinubu is the chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, the highest organ of ECOWAS.

Falana added that to end the “unwarranted embarrassment”, Tinubu should direct Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general and minister of justice, to ensure Nigeria complies with the decisions of the court without any further delay.