Admin I Thursday, May 15, 2025
OSBORNE, Ikoyi, Lagos – The ECOWAS Community Court sitting in Ikoyi, LAGOS has awarded N20 million damages to Moses Abiodun for violating his fundamental human rights.
Moses Abiodun was arrested by officers of the Special Anri-Robbery Squad, SARS and detained for 16 years without trial.
His counsel, Chigozie Uzodinma informed the court that Abiodun was arrested in November 2008 by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and detained for several months. On March 23, 2009, he was remanded by a magistrate court in Lagos on provisional charges of conspiracy and armed robbery. Since then, he has neither been formally charged nor brought to trial.
The applicant alleged violations of his rights to liberty, freedom of movement, fair trial, and protection from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, as enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party.
The respondent denied knowledge of the SARS unit and questioned the authenticity of the remand warrant provided by the applicant.
However, the court accepted a certified true copy of the remand order submitted by Mr. Abiodun, dismissing claims of forgery.
The court affirmed its jurisdiction based on Article 9(4) of its Rules, recognized the applicant’s victim status, and ruled that the case was not statute-barred, citing that time limitations do not apply in cases of human rights violations.
On the merits, the court found Nigeria liable on all four counts:
* Violation of the right to liberty
* Violation of the right to freedom of movement
* Violation of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time
* Violation of the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment
The court held that 16 years of detention without trial was unjustifiable, inhumane, and a clear breach of international human rights obligations.
Accordingly, it awarded ₦20 million in compensation to Mr. Abiodun.
