ECOWAS Court to hear more than 40 cases soon

ECOWASThe ECOWAS Community Court of Justice is scheduled to adjudicate on 45 cases from 10 Member States for the first quarter of 2016, records provided by the Registry Department of the Court indicates.

The court will deliver judgments in five of the cases, give rulings on three others while the rest of the cases are for hearing. Three of the judgements have already been made by the Court.

According to correspondence from the Court that was made available to the Ghana News Agency, most of the cases are human rights violations against Member States.

They include those filed by retired Colonel Mohammed Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser to former Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan and another by Djibril Bassole, who served as foreign minister under former President Blaise Compaore.

Both of them have approached the court for the enforcement of their fundamental human rights.

Hearing in case filed by Col. Dasuki has been fixed for 15th March 2016 while that filed by the former foreign minister of Burkina Faso will be heard on March 18, 2016.

In another of the cases due to be heard during this first quarter, Dorothy Chioma Njemanze and three others are suing the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, alleging that they were arbitrarily abducted, detained and assaulted sexually, verbally and physically at different times between January 2010 and March 2013.

They alleged that the agents of the government of Nigeria comprising the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), the Nigerian Police, and the Nigerian Military subjected them to gender-based violence and inhuman and degrading treatment contrary to the provisions of various international legal instruments.

They also cited the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) among the instruments violated by the government.

The matter has been slated for March 18, 2016.

In another case, a Nigerian, Mr Obioma C.O. Ogukwe whose 15 year old son died in a swimming incident on October 15, 2015 is suing the government of Ghana, alleging the violation of his fundamental rights as enshrined in relevant sections of various international legal instruments by its failure to carry out a proper investigation and prosecution of person(s) found guilty for the alleged murder of his son.

The plaintiff submitted that a schoolmaster had taken his son in the company of other students out for jogging that ended at the beach where the schoolmaster invited the students to swim. However, his son declined the invitation to swim, opting instead to play a game on phone. The boy lost his life thereafter in controversial circumstances.

Hearing in the case continues on March 18, 2016.

The cases will be heard by different panel of judges drawn from the present Members of the Court, which include Justice Maria Do Céu Silva Monteiro, President, Justice Chijioke Friday Nwoke, Vice President, and Justice Jérôme Traoré, Dean.

Other Members of the Court are Justice Micah Wilkins Wright, Justice Yaya Boiro, Justice Hameye Foune Mahalmadane, and Justice Alioune Sall.

Source: GNA

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