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ECOWAS Court Waits on Council of Head of States for Enforcement of Court’s Judgments
ECOWAS Court Waits on Council of Head of States for Enforcement of Court’s Judgments
By: Michael Mike
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court said it is waiting on the Commission’s Council of Head of States to put in place sanctions that would ensure members of the sub regional bloc enforce the judgments of the court.
Many who believe the court has taken giant strides in taking informed decisions on cases brought before it especially in area of violation of human rights in member countries, however lamented that the non-enforcement of the decisions have been the major challenges.
Answering questions from journalists on the sidelines of the Annual Judges Retreat of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court on Thursday in Suleja, Niger State, the Chief Registrar of the Court, Chief Registrar of ECOWAS Court, Dr.Yaouza Ouro-Sama said: “Supplementary Act of 2012 have defined legal regime of sanctions for member states that have not been complying with court decisions but as you know within the legal framework of ECOWAS, it is only the council of head of states that takes decisions especially sanctions against member states and we just got an opportunity to present the status of enforcement before council of ministers and we are yet to do a second presentation, in December I believe the council of ministers would take it up to the council of head of states and would take a decision to ensure member states enforce our decisions.”
He argued that the court has been effectively as notable decisions have been made and that the forced.
He said: “Some of the judgments of the court are enforced by the community institutions. It is one thing to pronounce a judgment and another thing to get it enforced.
“We are making a lot of efforts to sensitize member states and community institutions so that the rate of enforcement of court decisions will increase, but I can tell you that within the last two years we have noticed significant increase of the rate of judgments of the court. We believe by continuing in that trend of engaging member states and community institutions we would get most of our decisions enforced.”
The President of the Court, Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves who declared open the Retreat while acknowledging that this is the first Judges’s retreat, after the judicial one organized by the new Management since its election, said the objectives of the retreat is to consider and validate a number of draft texts that are essential to the smooth operation of the Court.
He said: The Honourable Judges will discuss and validate the draft strategy on arbitration, amendment proposals on the Protocols of the Court, the draft Instructions to the Chief Registrar and Practice direction, and finally proposed Policies on contract and Library.”
He called on all participants for an active participation in order to ensure that the sessions are interactive, and asked for the setting up of a Committee saddled with the responsibility of following up on the implementation of recommendations from the Judges’ retreats and subsequent brief the Management periodically.”
ECOWAS Court Waits on Council of Head of States for Enforcement of Court’s Judgments
Fourteen Abducted Victims Released in Maru, Zamfara State; Two Killed in Captivity
By: Zagazola Makama
Fourteen victims abducted in December 2025, including six family members of Inspector Hussaini Abubakar of Maru Police Division, have been released by their captors.
Zagazola reliably gathered that the release occurred at about 1:00 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2026. Unfortunately, two of the victims, identified as Bashir Marafa, aged 45, and Halliru Kabiru, aged 50, were killed while in captivity.
Sources added that a pregnant woman among the abductees delivered a baby girl while in captivity. The victims are currently receiving medical attention at the General Hospital, Maru.
Fourteen Abducted Victims Released in Maru, Zamfara State; Two Killed in Captivity
Two Abducted Victims Rescued in Tsafe, Zamfara; One Killed in Bandit Attack at Talata Mafara
By: Zagazola Makama
Two persons abducted earlier this month in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State have been rescued, while a separate bandit attack in Talata Mafara LGA left one person dead and others missing.
Sources confirmed that Bashir Adamu Iyatawa, 42, and Kenneth Allahmagani, 35, both from Zaria City, Kaduna State, were abducted at Unguwar Chida Village in Tsafe on Feb. 16, 2026.
They were rescued on Feb. 26, debriefed, and later taken to a hospital for medical attention before being handed over to their relatives.
In a separate incident, armed bandits loyal to a local bandit leader, Na Sanda, attacked the outskirts of Jangebe town in Talata Mafara LGA on Feb. 27 at about 2:00 a.m.
The attack resulted in the death of Misbawu Aminu, 30, and the abduction of an unspecified number of persons to an undisclosed location.
Joint troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA and local vigilante groups are reported to be pursuing the fleeing bandits. Authorities have assured that efforts to rescue the abducted victims and apprehend the culprits are ongoing.
Two Abducted Victims Rescued in Tsafe, Zamfara; One Killed in Bandit Attack at Talata Mafara
Boko Haram Attack on CJTF Leaves One Dead in Gwoza, Borno state
By: Zagazola Makama
One member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) was killed following an ambush by suspected ISWAP terrorists along the Warave–Gwoza Road in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
Sources said the incident occurred on February 25 at about 7:30 a.m. when gunmen attacked members of the CJTF and hunters on routine patrol. Fifty-year-old Bello Adamu, a member of the CJTF, was fatally injured in the attack.
Army troops of Operation HADIN KAI, Police Tactical Units, and CJTF personnel visited the scene, documented the incident, and evacuated the victim to Gwoza General Hospital, where he was certified dead on arrival. His body was released to his family for burial according to Islamic rites.
Monitoring of the area continues to prevent further attacks.
Boko Haram Attack on CJTF Leaves One Dead in Gwoza, Borno state
Fourteen Abducted Victims Released in Maru, Zamfara State; Two Killed in Captivity
Two Abducted Victims Rescued in Tsafe, Zamfara; One Killed in Bandit Attack at Talata Mafara
Boko Haram Attack on CJTF Leaves One Dead in Gwoza, Borno state
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