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ECOWAS COURT DELIVERS JUDGMENT IN MELVILLE ROBERTS V THE GAMBIA CASE, UPHOLDS CITIZEN’S RIGHT TO WORK

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ECOWAS COURT DELIVERS JUDGMENT IN MELVILLE ROBERTS V THE GAMBIA CASE, UPHOLDS CITIZEN’S RIGHT TO WORK

By: Michael Mike

The Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS on 3 December 2024 upheld the right to work of a Gambian lawyer and diplomat Mr Melville Roberts but dismissed his claims regarding violations of his rights to presumption of innocence, fair trial, and human dignity including freedom from mental torture.

In the initiating application with suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/65/21 the Applicant, Mr Roberts, through his lawyers Messrs Femi Falana and Marshal Abubakar alleged that he was subjected to smears and a “media trial” following accusations of rape by women with whom he had prior relationships. He contended that the smear campaign and media trial by state and non-state actors, and his suspension from the Gambian Foreign Service violated his rights to presumption of innocence, fair trial, work, and freedom from mental torture.
The lawyers for Mr Roberts filed for default judgment after the Respondent, The Gambia, failed to respond to the Application within the stipulated time under the Rules of the Court.

In its findings, the Court noted that statements made by an alleged government official on his private social media account condemning rape and calling for an investigation into the allegations cannot be attributed to The Gambia. The Court concluded that “the Applicant’s claim that the Respondent violated his rights to a fair trial, dignity and freedom from torture or degrading treatment through a media trial is not well founded as the said media trial cannot be attributed to the Respondent.”  

On the alleged violation of his rights to presumption of innocence, equality and work, the Court held that Mr Roberts’ suspension during the investigation into the rape allegations was a standard administrative practice and did not amount to a violation of his rights. However, the Court found that the prolonged delay of about four years by the state in acting on the Investigation Report violated his right to work as it hindered his ability to earn a living. It therefore ordered The Gambia to pay 10,000 USD in the equivalent of its local currency as compensation for the violation of the Applicant’s right to work.  The Court also ordered The Gambia to take a definitive action on the prolonged criminal investigations of the Applicant, either by initiating prosecution or formally discontinuing the criminal processes against him.

Both parties were directed to bear their own legal costs.

The panel of the Court that heard the case were Honourable Justices Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Goncalves (presiding), Dupe Atoki (panel member) and Edward Asante (judge rapporteur).

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DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

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DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

By: Zagazola Makama

A wave of coordinated security offensives in Imo State has barbecued the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), with the killing of key kingpins and the dislodgement of notorious terrorist camps in forested parts of Njaba and Isu Local Government Areas.

Zagazola Makama understand that The offensive, which began on June 29, was spearheaded by the Department of State Services (DSS) in close collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, special forces, and local tactical units.

It was launched after the arrest and detailed confessions of two ESN commanders Uchenna Opara, popularly known as Ntanta Miri, and Ozioma Ihedoro, a.k.a OZ, both natives of Umuaka community in Njaba LGA.

Acting on actionable intelligence, the joint team raided and obliterated several terrorist enclaves, including Umuele Umuaka, Ezioha, and Ugbele Umuaka, known safe havens of the separatist group.

A fierce gun battle ensued as operatives stormed the camps. Three ESN fighters were neutralised during the confrontation, while others reportedly escaped with bullet wounds. Their bodies were later recovered along the Ugbele Umuaka axis.

What followed was a methodical clearance operation targeting the B44 camp cluster, long considered one of ESN’s strategic base networks. The camps, codenamed B44 Tangle 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9, were all successfully dislodged by the joint force.

A caterpillar operator working with the team was tragically killed in the line of duty when the group came under sudden fire while approaching the B44 main camp. He was rushed to the Federal University Teaching Hospital (FUTH), Owerri, but later confirmed dead by a medical officer on duty.

Items recovered from the operation included:
One AK-47 rifle, 15 rounds of live ammunition, pump-action shotgun, two locally made IEDs, one human skull and a Biafran flag

In addition, two suspected ESN members were arrested during the combing of nearby bush paths. The duo Emeka Ogene Sabinus of Ezi Isu in Isu LGA and Nnabuike Emmanuel of Ohofia Oduma in Aninri LGA, Enugu State were said to bear tribal incisions associated with the proscribed militia.

The collapse of the B44 cluster was significant in the counterinsurgency drive in the South-East, where pockets of armed resistance have posed growing threats to residents, security personnel, and national assets.

“The terrain is difficult, but our operatives are relentless,” a senior official close to the operation said. “We are targeting leadership figures, supply chains, and safe havens.”

Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to apprehend fleeing fighters, with mop-up operations continuing in adjoining forest belts across Orlu, Njaba, and Isu corridors.

The Imo offensive adds to a growing list of successes by joint intelligence-led operations aimed at stabilising regions grappling with armed separatist violence, kidnappings, and the weaponisation of local grievances.

DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

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FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions

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FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions

By: Zagazola Makama

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three most-wanted bandits and kidnappers operating across Abuja and neighbouring parts of Kaduna State.

According to a police sources, the arrests were carried out on June 29 between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., by operatives of the Scorpion Squad led by ACP Victor O. Godfrey, following actionable and digital reconstructive intelligence.

The sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects were identified as: Abdulkadir Abubakar, a native of Mpape, FCT, Mohammed Tasiu Sani, of Rigina, Kaduna State, Suleiman Jibrin, 27, of Sabon-Gayan, Kaduna State.

The three suspects, all Fulani by tribe, have been on the command’s most-wanted list for
their roles in multiple kidnapping and banditry operations, particularly in Jere, Kajuru, the FCT and its environs.

During interrogation, the suspects confessed to abducting victims and moving them to detention camps in Kachia and Rigina forests in Kaduna State. Some victims, they admitted, were held for months, while others were killed at will.

The sources revealed that one of the suspects, Abdulkadir Abubakar, provided disturbing details of internal executions within the gang, in which some members were killed by their own leaders over mistrust and betrayal.

An operational motorcycle, popularly referred to by locals as the “Boko Haram Motorcycle,” was recovered during the raid. The suspects are currently assisting operatives in ongoing efforts to recover arms and ammunition, and to track down other gang members still at large.

FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions

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Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

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Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

By: Zagazola Makama

A 20-year-old farm labourer identified as Solomon (surname yet unknown) has been found dead with gunshot wounds after he was allegedly shot by a member of the Western Nigeria Security Network, also known as Amotekun, along the Ilesa/Iperindo Road in Osun State.

The incident, which occurred on June 29, followed the reported confrontation between a local security operative and a group of five farm labourers on their way to a farmland.

According to Temidayo Olowookere, the employer of the deceased, the labourers were accosted around 11:00 a.m. by an Amotekun operative, one Ajayi Ibukun, who accused them of extorting money from passersby. Two members of the group were apprehended, while the remaining three fled into the bush.

Olowookere said the detained workers were later released to him in the afternoon. However, later in the evening, when two of the three fleeing labourers returned, Solomon remained missing.

A search party was immediately organised. His body was discovered in the bush with gunshot wounds on his back, raising suspicions that he may have been shot during the initial confrontation.

His remains were evacuated to Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, where he was confirmed dead and deposited at the morgue for autopsy.

Police say efforts are currently underway to trace and apprehend the security operative allegedly involved in the shooting, while the community continues to call for justice.

Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

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