Reported By Ariajegbe Esezobor Sylvia
The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States has issued a direct appeal to journalists across its twelve member states, urging them to use their media platforms to pressure governments into complying with the court’s judgments, in a region where the enforcement of judicial decisions remains dangerously low.
Justice Ricardo Gonçalves, President of the ECOWAS Court, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the opening of a three-day training programme for the Network of ECOWAS Member States’ Journalists Covering the Community Court of Justice. Represented by the Vice President of the Court, Justice Sengu Koroma, Gonçalves said journalists had an important role to play in promoting awareness of the court’s decisions and ensuring that member states fulfilled their treaty obligations. “Let me also urge you to use your media platforms to engage Member States on the need to faithfully implement the decisions of the Court in accordance with their treaty obligations,” he said.
The court president acknowledged a stark reality: the responsibility for enforcing the court’s judgments rests with member states, but compliance is currently below expectation. “The judgement enforcement mechanism of the Court gives the Member States the responsibility of enforcing the judgments of the Court, which at the moment is below expectation,” he stated. The numbers bear him out. According to data disclosed by the court at a regional workshop in Cotonou in June, only about 22 per cent of its judgments have been enforced by member states. The court has delivered 492 judgments involving the twelve active member states, of which 192 were categorised as enforceable. In February, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, raised alarm over member states’ non-compliance, disclosing that approximately 80 per cent of the court’s judgments remain unenforced, largely due to a lack of political will and institutional challenges within member states. The ECOWAS Court lacks direct enforcement powers and relies heavily on the goodwill of member states, a structural limitation common to many supranational tribunals. Only ten of the fifteen member states have designated national authorities responsible for enforcement.
For Nigeria specifically, the picture is particularly troubling. During a high-level engagement with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in February, the President of the Court disclosed that the court had registered 128 cases involving Nigeria. Of these, 66 had been concluded, but only ten judgments had been executed, while 52 remained pending execution. The court reminded Nigeria that its judgments are final, binding and immediately enforceable on member states, community institutions and individuals, under Article 15(4) of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty. Yet the gap between legal obligation and practical compliance remains vast.
The training programme, which runs from September 16 to 18 at the seat of the court in Abuja, brings together journalists from Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, The Gambia, Togo and Nigeria. The initiative forms part of the court’s Annual Cascade Workplan and is aligned with the ECOWAS Court Strategic Plan 2026–2030, particularly Strategic Goal 4 on transparency, stakeholder engagement and strategic accountability. Participants will be trained on specialised court reporting, including understanding judgments and rulings, advocating for judgment compliance, and building trust and effective communication between journalists and court officials. The programme will also cover critical issues such as avoiding contempt of court and defamation, balancing freedom of expression with respect for due process, and simplifying legal language for public comprehension.
Gonçalves stressed the importance of accurate and responsible reporting of judicial proceedings, saying inadequate understanding of the court’s mandate and processes had contributed to gaps in media coverage. “Journalists occupy an important position in communicating the work of courts to the public. Accurate and responsible reporting of judicial proceedings enables citizens to better understand the mandate of judicial institutions, their decisions and the implications of those decisions for individuals, Member States and the region,” he said. He urged journalists to distinguish between submissions made by parties in a case and the findings and decisions of the court, and to avoid bias, sensationalism, misinformation and disinformation in their reporting. Ms Elohor Ovadje, Head of Public Information and External Relations at the court, said the training was expected to strengthen journalists’ knowledge of the court’s processes and improve the quality and accuracy of reports on its proceedings, while enhancing media contribution to advocacy for compliance with the court’s decisions. Among the expected outcomes is the establishment of a network of journalists specialising in judicial reporting, strengthening trust and cooperation between the court and the media, and increasing public interest in the court’s activities.
The call for journalists to become advocates for judgment compliance comes against a backdrop of cases in which the court has held member states accountable for human rights violations, only to see its rulings ignored. In June, the court ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to pay ten million naira in damages to Abuja-based journalist Jide Oyekunle, who was assaulted, unlawfully detained and had his mobile phone seized by police while live-reporting the nationwide End Bad Governance protests on August 1, 2024. The court found that Nigeria’s actions suppressed his live coverage, breaching his right to freedom of expression under Article 9 of the African Charter, and violated his rights to personal liberty, human dignity and property. The judgment was secured by Avocats Sans Frontières France under its eRIGHTS project, supported by the European Union. ASF France pledged to monitor compliance with the judgment and continue offering legal support to journalists facing similar violations, describing the ruling as a clear message that a journalist’s digital tools are extensions of the modern press and that their arbitrary confiscation by security forces is a direct assault on the public’s right to know.
The ECOWAS Court’s turn to journalists reflects a recognition that without public pressure, its judgments risk becoming mere paper victories. The court has no police force, no bailiffs and no power to compel compliance. Its authority rests on the willingness of member states to honour their treaty obligations and on the vigilance of citizens and the media to hold them accountable. By training journalists to report accurately on its proceedings and to advocate for the enforcement of its decisions, the court is betting that an informed public will demand that governments respect the rulings of the regional tribunal they helped create. Whether that bet pays off will determine not only the future of the ECOWAS Court but the credibility of the entire regional justice system. For the journalists gathered in Abuja this week, the message was clear: the court can deliver judgments, but only the people, armed with information, can ensure they are obeyed.
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