Prominent human rights advocate and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has criticized the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for their disregard for the rule of law and failure to implement rulings of the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
In a recent statement titled ‘End Disobedience of ECOWAS Courts’, Falana expressed concern that decisions of the court were being routinely ignored by member states.
As of December 2024, he revealed that 154 judgements from the regional court remain unenforced—with Nigeria leading the list at 44, followed by Togo (27) and Guinea (15). Other countries cited include Mali (10), Sierra Leone (9), Niger (8), Côte d’Ivoire (8), Senegal (8), Ghana (6), Benin (5), Liberia (4), The Gambia (3), Burkina Faso (5), Cabo Verde (1), and Guinea Bissau (1).
READ ALSO: Falana fires back at Wike over supreme court accusation
“With respect, the ECOWAS leaders have failed to uphold democratic norms and the rule of law. Hence, the region has continued to witness an unconstitutional change of government.
Without any legal and political justification whatsoever, the leaders have treated the decisions of the Community Court of Justice (ECOWAS Court) with disdain,” Falana said.
He noted the irony of former heads of state who once disregarded the court’s authority turning to the same institution for redress after leaving office.
“In calling on the ECOWAS leaders to comply with the judgements of the ECOWAS Court, we are compelled to remind the ECOWAS leaders that some of their predecessors who did not comply with the decisions of the court have approached the same court for the protection of their human rights after they had left office.
“Such leaders include Charles Taylor of Liberia, Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire, Boni Yayi of Benin, Mamadou Tanja of Niger, Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso. Even Mrs. Doe, the widow of the late Liberian warlord, Samuel Doe, has secured a judgement in the court,” he added.
Falana, a former president of the West African Bar Association, emphasized that under Article 24 of the court’s founding treaty, each member nation must appoint a designated authority to facilitate enforcement of the court’s decisions.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to act promptly by mandating Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to uphold this responsibility without further delay.
“In 2014, Nigeria appointed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice as the National Authority saddled with the responsibility to comply with the judgements of the ECOWAS Court.
“It is the height of embarrassment that Nigeria is on top of the list with the highest number of unenforced judgements at a time when President Bola Tinubu is the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, the highest organ,” he said.
, Femi Falana, has criticized the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for their disregard for the rule of law and failure to implement rulings of the ECOWAS Court of Justice.){kind=link}