Femi Falana, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has criticised the Nigerian government for allegedly failing to comply with several rulings issued by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice.
Gatekeepers News reports that Falana’s remarks were in response to President Bola Tinubu’s recent comments during the 50th anniversary celebration of ECOWAS in Lagos.
Tinubu had praised ECOWAS for promoting democracy through election monitoring, facilitating mediation, and strengthening of institutions like tECOWAS parliament and court which foster accountability, the rule of law, and good governance.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Falana said the reality is far from Tinubu’s claim, saying ECOWAS leaders, including Nigeria, have continued to treat the court’s decisions with disdain.
However, in a statement Sunday, Falana challenged the president’s claims, stating that the actions of ECOWAS leaders including Nigeria contradict those ideals, as they frequently disregard the court’s judgments.
The statement reads, “With respect, the ECOWAS leaders have failed to uphold democratic norms and rule of law. Hence, the region has continued to witness unconstitutional change of government.”
Falana said without any legal or political justification whatsoever, the leaders have treated the decisions of the court with
disrespect.
Referring to the court’s official data as of December 2024, he revealed that Nigeria tops the list of member states with unenforced rulings, having ignored 44 judgments.
Togo follows with 27, Guinea with 15, Mali 10, Sierra Leone 9, while Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal each have 8. Ghana has 6, Benin and Burkina Faso 5 each, Liberia 4, The Gambia 3, and both Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau 1 judgment each
Falana further reminded ECOWAS leaders that several former heads of state who once dismissed the court’s rulings later turned to the same institution to seek justice and protection for their human rights.
These include Charles Taylor of Liberia, Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire, Boni Yayi of Benin, Mamadou Tanja of Niger, and Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso. He also noted that the ECOWAS court granted a judgment to Mrs. Doe, widow of the late Liberian warlord Samuel Doe.
Falana described it as deeply embarrassing that Nigeria, whose president currently chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, leads in flouting the court’s rulings.
He urged President Tinubu to end this “unwarranted embarrassment” by instructing the Attorney-General, Lateef Fagbemi, to ensure Nigeria immediately complies with all pending court decisions.
