Connect with us

News

ECOWAS Court, Pan African Lawyers Union To Collaborate On Litigations And Enforcement of Judgments

Published

on

ECOWAS Court, Pan African Lawyers Union To Collaborate On Litigations And Enforcement of Judgments

By: Michael Mike

The ECOWAS Court of Justice and the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) have agreed on a collaboration on litigations and enforcement of the judgments.

This was disclosed at a two day seminar organised by PALU with support from the Rahul Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the weekend in Abuja.

The programme officer of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), Praise-God Joseph, said there is a collaboration between ECOWAS Court and PALU on how litigants can access the court as they hope to create more awareness on the need for member states to enforce the judgements of the court.

She said: “First is for them to understand that these courts they are the ones who accepted their jurisdiction and established them knowing the importance of this court and also knowing that this court provides decisions which are binding so it is upon the states to implement them and also the last thing that we have seen as an initiative towards ensuring they implement the judgment is to provide advocacy about the decisions that we get from this regional court and also sensitising our member states to know these decisions and also to find initiatives towards implementing the decisions.”

She added that: “Through this publication and also the two days seminar is to ensure that litigants have been equipped with the knowledge of the regional court that means it’s jurisdiction and procedures of accessing the court, but also understand how they can advocate towards the implementation of the decisions rendered by the regional court and through this we are able to strategize and discuss on what initiatives in case they call us we can implement in our respective organisations and also we can collaborate as partners towards enforcement of decisions of regional courts. And on our collaboration with the ECOWAS Court of Justice we have been working together through different strategic litigations but also mostly through capacity buildings and conferences where we aim to build key stakeholders knowledge about the court but also collaborations on how we as litigants and strategic litigants can access the ECOWAS court mostly

She also spoke on PALU and it’s importance, stating that: @Pan African Lawyers union deals with different issues and most of our activities are around strategic litigation so through this strategic litigation we do capacity building to litigants but also we do publications so as to help litigants in accessing justice through regional court. So we organised a two-day seminar which aims for capacity building of participants, litigants, CSOs, NHRIS across the region with the focus of those litigates at the ECOWAS court of Justice.”

The programme officer of Rahul institute for human rights and humanitarian law, Gilford Kimathi, said Rahul sponsored the training because of its interest in building capacity of litigants to promote justice.

*We support access to Justice so we support the Pan African lawyers union in its work that supports both the sub-regional bodies that are working on human rights as well as building the capacity of lawyers especially those that are litigating these bodies.

“We hope to have the litigants have increased awareness and therefore strengthen their capacity to engage with the ECOWAS court.

“One of the challenges that we have is that there is limited awareness of these bodies by many of the advocates we use to have many other challenges like the low levels of implementation of decisions that emanate from those bodies amongst other challenges as you may know therefore our expectation is that through the seminar that was organized by PALU as well as the publication the menu that has been developed by PALU the litigants will be more capacitated to be able to litigate at the ECOWAS court.” he added

The Registrar Appeal, Arbitration and Enforcement, ECOWAS Court of Justice, Mr. Gaye Sowe, at the sidelines said, the court has gotten an approval to be at the next ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting to present it with their challenges and possible solutions. “For the first time the court is going to meet with the council of Ministers which has never happened before. We will be at the meeting and make known to them the challenges we face aa a regional court and proffer possible solutions.”,

Earlier in his presentation he disclosed that the court has so far made over 390 judgments since inception and that 132 cases against member state are yet to be enforced while while 14 has so far been enforced and that the other over 200 judgements are not enforceable.

ECOWAS Court, Pan African Lawyers Union To Collaborate On Litigations And Enforcement of Judgments

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Troops neutralise three terrorists in ambush operations in Borno

Published

on

Troops neutralise three terrorists in ambush operations in Borno

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of the Joint Task Force (North East) Operation Hadin Kai have neutralised three terrorists and intercepted logistics supplies during coordinated ambush operations in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama on Tuesday that the operations were conducted by under Operation Desert Sanity IV.

The sources said that the first ambush occurred late on July 28 at Kawuri general area, where troops lying in wait intercepted terrorists transporting logistics. On sighting the ambush team, a firefight ensued, resulting in the neutralisation of two terrorists, while others escaped with possible gunshot wounds.

Items recovered included packs of salt, Maggi seasoning, detergents, wrappers, brassieres, hijabs, shoes, a solar panel, torchlight batteries, and packs of SIM cards.

The troops returned safely to base early on July 29.

In a separate incident around midnight on the same day, troops on patrol observed suspicious movement ahead of their location in Konduga.

An alert was sent to an ambush team already in position, which swiftly engaged the terrorists at a different axis of the local government area. One terrorist was neutralised, while others fled.

The troops recovered items from both operations and returned to base without casualties.

Troops neutralise three terrorists in ambush operations in Borno

Continue Reading

News

Troops neutralise two terrorists in Borno, recover weapons

Published

on

Troops neutralise two terrorists in Borno, recover weapons

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of the Nigerian Army’s Operation Hadin Kai have neutralised two ISWAP terrorists during a fighting patrol in Aligambari village, near Gajiram in Borno State.

A reliable source told Zagazola Makama on Tuesday that the troops, acting on credible intelligence, launched a swift operation in the area at about 1:00 p.m. on Monday.

According to the source, the troops made contact with the terrorists and engaged them with superior firepower, killing two of them in the process.

He said that the soldiers also recovered one AK-47 rifle, one PKT machine gun and two magazines from the scene.

“The troops are currently dominating the area of responsibility with aggressive patrols to deny the terrorists any freedom of movement.

“All captured items are in the custody of the troops, and further instructions are being awaited from higher headquarters,” the source added.

Troops neutralise two terrorists in Borno, recover weapons

Continue Reading

News

At Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation Citizens Engagement

Published

on

At Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation Citizens Engagement:

President Tinubu Walking Hand In Hand With Nigerians Through Critical Reforms, Says VP Shettima

  • Adds: Administration prioritising dialogue, flexibility in tax reforms, fuel subsidy removal, others

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said that instead of governing Nigeria from a distance, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is walking hand in hand with the people through critical national reforms.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the administration to inclusive governance and responsive policymaking rooted in wide-ranging public engagement and empathy.

Senator Shettima, who stated this on Tuesday in Kaduna at a 2-day interactive session on Government – Citizens Engagement, organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, said the Nigerian leader has demonstrated time and again that his administration is “neither crafting policy in solitude nor assuming that technocracy alone delivers results.”

Represented by the Special Adviser to The President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr Aliyu Modibbo Umar, the Vice President, declared that the Tinubu administration is convening conversations and institutionalising listening.

“It is always a privilege to gather under the luminous legacy of Sir Ahmadu Bello; his memory reminds us that leadership is not simply about occupying office, but about shouldering the burden of service. What we nurture today is not just a government of the people but a government with the people,” he said.

VP Shettima highlighted several reforms of the administration where public input significantly shaped final outcomes, including tax policy, education access, and economic relief measures following the removal of fuel subsidies.

On the student loan law, which was initially passed as the Access to Higher Education Act, the VP said in response, the administration repealed and reenacted the law, “removing income ceilings and guarantor barriers that had become symbolic walls between ambition and opportunity.”

Vice President Shettima reiterated the government’s belief that “no student should be disqualified for being born on the wrong side of poverty.”

On tax reforms, Senator Shettima said the administration established a Presidential Tax and Fiscal Reform Committee, which engaged stakeholders from across the country to address grey areas in the reforms.

“When objections arose from governors and citizens alike, the President did not dismiss them. He welcomed their candour and ensured tax bills passed through public hearings. Even unpopular taxes inherited from past regimes, like the 10% single-use plastic levy and telecom tax, were suspended after critical review,” he stated.

The VP also spoke about the contentious issue of fuel subsidy removal, saying the Tinubu-led federal government acknowledged the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians and accompanied the policy with strategic responses.

He continued: “We met with labour unions not with threats, but with empathy. We offered palliative packages, increased wages, waived diesel taxes, and introduced alternatives like CNG buses to cushion transport costs. We were not merely reacting. We were responding.”

The Vice President said the reforms in other sectors of the economy followed the same pattern of engaging with the people and making necessary adjustments to the original propositions where necessary.

He further noted that every step of the way, President Tinubu showed concern for the people and emphasised the point that “governance is not a theatre of perfection but a process of correction and a government that listens is a government that learns. And a government that learns is a government that leads.”

He applauded the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation for sustaining the legacy of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, describing it as “a torch of civic dialogue that must never be extinguished.”

At Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation Citizens Engagement

Continue Reading

Trending

Verified by MonsterInsights