Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, demanding $10 million in damages for a prolonged pattern of unlawful arrests, detention, and restrictions on his freedom of movement under successive military administrations in the 1980s and 1990s. The suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/30/2026, was filed in Abuja last week. Falana is asking the court to declare that the actions of Nigerian authorities were unlawful and unconstitutional, citing violations of his rights to personal liberty, dignity, fair hearing, property, and freedom of movement under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The application traces Falana’s confrontation with the state to his National Youth Service Corps year in Oyo State between 1982 and 1983, when he represented University of Ibadan students charged with conspiracy and attempted murder following a dispute involving the university’s vice-chancellor. Falana alleges that the NYSC authorities withheld his discharge certificate because he defended the students without official permission, even though the case was eventually decided in their favour. He cites the case as Andrew Ogor & Ors v Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Kolawole & Anor (1983) NCLR 142.
On June 8, 1985, armed agents of the then National Security Organisation arrested Falana at the Lagos State High Court, took him to his chambers at Alao Aka-Bashorun Chambers on Jebba Street, Ebute Metta, and conducted a search without a warrant. They found nothing incriminating. He was subsequently detained for seven weeks at the NSO facility at 15 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, in what the application describes as dehumanising conditions, alongside other political detainees. He was released on August 30, 1985, following the coup that brought General Ibrahim Babangida to power.
Following his release, the Babangida administration renamed the NSO the State Security Service and established the Justice Samson Uwaifo Panel to investigate detention cases. Falana appeared before the panel but disputes the explanation given for his detention in the panel’s white paper. He alleges that the SSS deliberately misled the panel by attributing his detention to his role in the defence of musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who had been prosecuted for foreign exchange-related offences. Falana notes that Isola Kanmi-Osobu, who had led him in Fela’s defence, was neither arrested nor detained.
The suit also details an alleged abduction. Falana claims he was taken from his Lagos residence at about 2 a.m. on April 8, 1990, by officials of the SSS, driven towards the Lagos-Epe road, and abandoned in a bush. He found his way to Epe and returned to Lagos. The SSS denied involvement, and the military government declined his request for an investigation.
In October 1991, the SSS prevented Falana from travelling to Harare, Zimbabwe, to attend a human rights conference and confiscated his international passport for six months. Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, subsequently read his paper at the conference on his behalf. Falana argues that the restriction violated his freedom of movement under Article 12 of the African Charter.
On May 19, 1992, Falana, along with Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti and Baba Omojola, was arrested and detained before being transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja. They were held in connection with allegations of conspiracy and treasonable felony. A fundamental-rights application resulted in a court order for their release, but the military authorities failed to comply. They were later arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court and admitted to bail.
Falana further alleges that he was arrested and detained in connection with protests following the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election. He, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, and Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti were charged with conspiracy, sedition, and incitement after publicly challenging the annulment. Bail orders were initially ignored. Further arrests and detentions occurred between 1994 and 1998 in connection with his human rights activities, including advocacy over the trial of Ken Saro-Wiwa and labour-related engagements.
The application references findings attributed to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, as well as reports by Amnesty International, concerning several of the arrests and detentions. Falana argues that despite later acknowledgements, including claims in former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s memoir that Moshood Abiola won the June 12 election, no apology or redress has been provided for the alleged violations.
Falana is asking the ECOWAS court to hold Nigeria accountable for what he describes as a prolonged pattern of human rights violations spanning the 1980s and 1990s. He is seeking declarations that the alleged violations were unlawful and unconstitutional, and an award of US$10 million in damages for the violations of his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, property, and freedom of movement by agents of the Nigerian authorities between 1985 and 1998.
The suit has not yet been determined by the court. Falana is asking the regional court to assess the conduct of the authorities under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and applicable ECOWAS legal instruments. The case is a significant test of the ECOWAS Court’s jurisdiction over historical human rights violations and a reminder of the long shadow cast by military rule over Nigeria’s democratic present. For Falana, the lawsuit is not just about compensation. It is about accountability, acknowledgment, and the principle that the passage of time does not erase the state’s obligation to answer for the abuses it inflicted on its citizens.
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