The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the Government of Ghana to pay $75,000 in damages to 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) for unlawfully detaining them without trial.
In its ruling delivered in Lagos, Nigeria, the Court found that the individuals were arrested in May 2019 and held—some for over a year—under Ghana’s Prohibited Organisations Decree of 1976, without being brought before a court. The court ruled this violated their right to liberty, as guaranteed by Ghana’s Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Each applicant is to receive $2,500, equivalent in Ghanaian Cedis.
Justice Ricardo Gonçalves, delivering the lead judgment alongside Justices Sengu M. Koroma and Dupe Atoki, stated that the detentions lacked legal justification, even under the guise of national security.
Although the Homeland Study Group Foundation was removed as a party due to lack of legal status, the individual claims were upheld. The Court dismissed the applicants’ self-determination claims, citing lack of legal standing.
Ghana has been ordered to either begin prosecution within two weeks or release the detainees unconditionally. All other reliefs were denied, and both sides must cover their own legal costs. The full judgment will be released once signed by the judges.
Earlier this week, the ECOWAS Court also ordered Nigeria to release a businessman held without trial since 2008.
