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ECOWAS Court Orders ₦10 Million in Compensation in favour of Nigerian Student for Human Rights Violations
ECOWAS Court Orders ₦10 Million in Compensation in favour of Nigerian Student for Human Rights Violations
By: Michael Mike
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court has held the Federal Republic of Nigeria accountable for the unlawful detention and mistreatment of Nigerian student Glory Okolie.
The Court in a ruling on Thursday awarded ₦10 Million in compensation and issued directives to safeguard human rights.
The case arose from the detention of Glory Okolie on 13 June 2021, by Nigerian police authorities without judicial authorization.
According to the Applicants, Okolie, along with One Love Foundation and Incorporated Trustees of Behind Bars Human Rights Foundation, she was denied access to legal counsel, subjected to forced labor, and physically abused during her detention.
The Applicants argued that these actions breached several human rights instruments, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Revised ECOWAS Treaty, seeking declarations, reparations, and a cessation of Nigeria’s unlawful conduct.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria refuted the claims, citing Okolie’s alleged connection to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed group linked to terrorist activities. The Respondent justified her detention as a matter of national security.
In the Judgment delivered by Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, the Judge Rapporteur, the Court found that Okolie’s prolonged detention without judicial authorization contravened Article 7 of the African Charter, violating her right to a fair trial. The Court also found that her deprivation of liberty, absent legal justification, breached Article 6 of the African Charter. Therefore, it ordered the Federal Republic of Nigeria to compensate Glory Okolie by paying her ₦10 million for the violations she suffered. It also ordered the Federal Republic of Nigeria to cease the harassment, ensuring non-repetition of such acts.
Meanwhile, The Court dismissed the claims of the co-applicant NGOs for procedural reasons.
The three-member panel of the Court were Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves (presiding judge and judge rapporteur), Honourable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma (panel member), and Honourable Justice Edward Amoako Asante (Panel member).
ECOWAS Court Orders ₦10 Million in Compensation in favour of Nigerian Student for Human Rights Violations
Bandits Dump Corpses in Revenge Attack in Tafoki Village, Katsina
By: Zagazola Makama
A group of suspected bandits have launched a brutal revenge attack on Tafoki village in the Fasakari Local Government Area of Katsina State, dumping several corpses at the entrance to the community.
Local sources told Zagazola Makama that the assailants, believed to be mostly in their 20s, arrived in the village on April 9, 2025, and positioned the bodies at the entrance. This attack is reportedly in retaliation for the deaths of three bandits killed by villagers in February 2025, after the criminals attempted to launch an assault on the village.
Among the slain bandits was Goje, a notorious leader who led the failed attack. Sources suggest that the bandits have since been abducting villagers, tying their hands behind their backs, and executing them with gunshots to the head. Afterward, the bandits return the bodies and dispose of them at the village entrance.
As families mourn, they are left to recover the decomposing remains of their loved ones, with some corpses already starting to decompose.
Villagers are left devastated, grappling with the trauma of the violence and the realization that their attempts to defend themselves against the bandits’ previous assault have now turned into deadly retribution.
Bandits Dump Corpses in Revenge Attack in Tafoki Village, Katsina
Man Dies After Being Beaten by Brother in Zaria City
By: Zagazola Makama
A tragic incident in Zaria City has led to the death of 50-year-old Sani Yusuf, who was reportedly beaten into a stupor by his elder brother, Abubakar Aminu, on April 4, 2025.
According to information from a Good Samaritan, Abubakar, aged 53, attacked Sani at their home in Rimintsiwa, Zaria City.
The victim was immediately rushed to ABUTH Shika for medical treatment but unfortunately passed away early on April 10, 2025, at approximately 4:50 a.m. While the victim was under care at the hospital, his condition deteriorated, and he succumbed to the injuries inflicted during the assault.
The family has since buried the deceased according to local customs.
Police authorities are currently searching for the suspect, Abubakar Aminu, who fled the scene following the incident. Efforts to apprehend him are ongoing.
The case has been classified as culpable homicide, and investigations are being pursued to determine the circumstances surrounding the altercation and the suspect’s motives.
Man Dies After Being Beaten by Brother in Zaria City
Bandits Abduct Three in Gusau Community
By: Zagazola Makama
Suspected armed bandits have abducted three residents of Marere Hausawa, a community on the outskirts of Damba in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Sources informed Zagazola Makama that the incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday at about 2:30 a.m., when the assailants, wielding dangerous weapons, invaded the area and forcefully took the victims to an unknown destination.
Sources within the community confirmed the attack, describing it as sudden and terrifying.
Search efforts are ongoing to rescue the victims by the troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA
Bandits Abduct Three in Gusau Community
Bandits Dump Corpses in Revenge Attack in Tafoki Village, Katsina
Man Dies After Being Beaten by Brother in Zaria City
Bandits Abduct Three in Gusau Community
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