March 24, (THEWILL) – The ECOWAS Court of Justice, sitting in Ghana, has restrained the Nigerian government or its component states or agents, from issuing any ban notice, disturbing or interfering with the rights of any person or group of persons from any part of Nigeria from holding peaceful protest.
The development followed a suit filed by Faculty of Peace and three others, against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The suit, numbered: ECW/CCJ/APP/30/21, according to the counsel to the applicants, President Aigbokhan, was brought against the Nigerian Government for using its agents, namely the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Department of State Service (DSS) to disrupt their protest.
“In this case, the applicants assembled for peaceful protest on March 28, 2021, to raise awareness on the hike in prices of fuel, sachet water and cement and its link with monopoly”, he said.
The protest was disrupted by government by locking up the assembly premises with the applicants inside for hours.
The applicants argued that the lock-out order of the defendant infringes on their right to protest.
Delivering judgement on March 21, 2022, at its first court sitting in Ghana, the presiding judge and President of the court, Justice Edward Asante, held that the “State action banning the applicants’ peaceful assembly and procession infringes on their rights to assemble and associate as provided for in Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter, Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Section 40 of the Constitution of 1999, Article 3,10, 11 and 17(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and Rule 94 (b) of the Guideline on Freedom of Assembly and Association.
“The court also awarded the applicants the sum of $15,000 as compensation for the unlawful denial of their right to protest.”
Responding to the judgement, Executive Director of Faculty of Peace, Kelly Omokaro, hailed the regional court for the ruling at this crucial time of the nation’s history.
In his response, Counsel to the applicants, Aigbokhan, said: “Assuming there is rumoured disruption of peace or hijack of protest, the state ought to deploy its security to ensure the participants are protected to air their views and not to ban the procession.
“This is because the right to protest is a constitutional and fundamental right and restriction of this right limits the potential for a free public space, with the consequence of hindering the operation of public engagement and participation.”
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