The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the Nigerian government to immediately release Moses Abiodun, a businessman who has been detained without trial since 2009. The court also awarded him ₦20 million in compensation for violations of his fundamental human rights.
Abiodun was arrested in November 2008 by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and initially held for five months without charges. He was later remanded on March 23, 2009, by a Lagos Magistrates’ Court. Since then, he has neither been formally charged nor tried.
In the suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/56/22, Abiodun argued that his prolonged detention breached his rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international legal instruments. The Nigerian government denied the allegations and challenged the authenticity of the remand order.
Delivering the judgment, the court ruled that the 16-year detention violated Abiodun’s right to liberty under Article 6 of the African Charter and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It further found that his right to freedom of movement and protection from inhuman or degrading treatment had also been breached.
The court described Abiodun’s detention as “anticipatory punishment” and declared it a gross violation of Article 7(1)(d) of the African Charter and Article 7 of the ICCPR.
The judgment was delivered by a three-member panel, presided over by Vice President Justice Sengu Koroma. Justice Edward Asante read the ruling, with Justice Gbéri-bè Ouattara also sitting on the panel.
NAN
