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Femi Falana, a Nigerian human rights lawyer, called on President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of ECOWAS member states to "comply with the judgments and orders of municipal and regional courts in the country". "Public interest". responsibility and political stability. "
The lawyer launched the appeal on Wednesday at the "ECOWAS Consultative Meeting on Access to Justice and Respect for the Rule of Law" in Accra, Ghana. Mr. Falana explained that "the lack of respect for the courts' decisions was due to years of prolonged military rule and the belief of African leaders that they were as powerful as the emperors and kings who ruled many communities. Africa before colonialism ".
According to Mr. Falana, "The President's intervention is a welcome development given the growing culture of impunity in Nigeria. But as far as the President is concerned, it is not enough to recognize the court as a civilized forum for the amicable settlement of conflicts in a democratic society. Injured litigants need firm assurance that party leadership will not follow the bad example of the federal government in dealing with contempt judgments and court orders. "
Mr. Falana said: "Having now adopted the rule of law, President Buhari should instruct the State Security Service to release Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife from custody orders made in accordance with the provisions of the law. Federal High Court Orders of 2 December 2016. In the same vein, the orders issued by the Nigerian courts and the ECOWAS court for the release of Colonel Sambo Dasuki (reissued) should be executed without further delay. . "
In his article, Mr. Falana reads: "Among the other well-known judgments that President Buhari must obey without further delay are at least four judgments obtained by the Project on Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability (SERAP). The first is the judgment of Judge Hadiza Rabiu Shagari, who ordered the government to let Nigerians know the stolen property that had been recovered, with details of the amounts recovered. "
"The second judgment, delivered by Judge Mohammed Idris, ordered the government to publish detailed information on the spending of stolen funds recovered by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999, while the third judgment, also delivered by Judge Idris, ordered President Buhari to act reports of investigations into allegations of stuffing and theft of some 481 billion naira in the 2016 budget by some Assembly officials national law, and to ensure the prosecution of the accused legislators. "
"The fourth judgment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, also obtained by SERAP, urged the Nigerian authorities to provide free and quality education to all Nigerian children without discrimination."
"Nigeria has a duty to show leadership in the region since President Mohammadu Buhari is the current President of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of Nigeria. ECOWAS. A Nigerian leader who has distanced himself from the ruling party's decision in Nigeria, the All Progressive Congress (APC), to expel its aggrieved members who have sued him for their grievances against him. from the recently concluded party primaries. "
"President Buhari should also show leadership in the region by ensuring that all judgments of the ECOWAS Court against Nigeria are fully and unconditionally respected."
"The hostile disposition of African states in the courts is essentially the same. African governments, including Nigeria, have not yet emerged from the era of military regimes and apartheid when martial law was on the agenda. The rule of law replaces the rule of the rulers. Not only are court orders ignored, but judges who rule against governments are harassed by security forces. The same attitude has been extended to regional and international courts. "
"Even though the majority of African states have ratified the Rome Statute, the African Union (AU) has recently attempted to withdraw Africa from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to prevent the Court to hold those responsible accountable for their gross human rights violations, aggression, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. The ICC has been accused of targeting African leaders, even though most cases of crimes against humanity have been referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the governments of some African states. "
"Although the African Union has drafted the Malabo Declaration to dress the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in Criminal Jurisdiction, no Member State has ratified the Declaration. African leaders are unwilling to respect human rights in accordance with the rule of law, with only 9 out of 54 African Union member states having made the declaration of acceptance of the competence of the African Union. the African Court ".
"The African people must not be deceived by the AU's attempt to conceal the grave crimes against humanity and the gross violations of human rights committed by some African leaders. Nigeria and other African governments should emulate the governments of Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and The Gambia, which empowered their citizens to access the African Court of Human Rights and Human Rights. peoples sitting in Arusha, Tanzania. "
"Despite the commitment of ECOWAS member states to fight against impunity by protecting human rights in accordance with the law, respect for the decisions of the Court by some of the Member States" 39 was not encouraging. The governments of Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone must immediately comply with the judgments of the ECOWAS courts and their national courts. "
"The Nigerian government should emulate the government of The Gambia, which has promoted accountability in all its ramifications. In addition to the payment of damages awarded by the ECOWAS Court to two victims of human rights violations, the Gambian government returned to the ICC and set up a truth, reconciliation and reparation commission to investigate on the serious violations of human rights that characterized Yayah Jameh. diet."
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