In a landmark ruling, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has dismissed a suit filed by the Lawyers Alert Initiative for Protecting the Rights of Children, Women, and Indigent against the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The court ruled it lacked jurisdiction due to the absence of identifiable victims.
Filed as Suit No: ECW/CCJ/APP/25/21, the case marked a historic first—being the inaugural judgement delivered under the Court’s 2020 Practice Direction on Electronic Case Management and Virtual Hearings.
This development was widely regarded as a leap forward for judicial efficiency in the region.
The Lawyers Alert Initiative, a prominent human rights non-profit based in Makurdi and Abuja, sought a declaration that specific sections of Nigeria’s Penal Code (1963) and Criminal Code (1961)—namely Sections 401, 405(1)(c), 405, 246, 224, and 250—constitute vagrancy laws that enable arbitrary arrest and detention of marginalised groups, particularly sex workers.
The organisation argued that these legal provisions violate several articles of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 18, and 19. It claimed the laws disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and foster systemic human rights abuses.
However, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justices Ricardo Goncalves, Sengu M. Koroma, and Edward Asante, the court acknowledged its jurisdiction to hear human rights violations under Article 9(4) of its Protocol.
Yet, it concluded that the case lacked the necessary legal foundation, as it failed to present evidence of specific victims who had suffered actual harm due to the challenged laws.
“The application amounts to a generalized and theoretical challenge to national legislation,” the Court stated, emphasizing that it does not entertain abstract reviews unless they are directly linked to documented human rights violations. The judges clarified that speculative claims without substantiation fall outside the Court’s mandate.
The applicant had submitted general reports and statistics on petty offences in Nigeria from 2022 and 2023. However, the Court found these documents inadequate, noting they lacked sworn affidavits, court decisions, or news reports identifying individuals who were prosecuted or affected under the contested provisions.
In reaffirming its role, the court cited precedents such as the Hissène Habré case, stressing that its function is not to issue advisory opinions but to adjudicate on actual breaches of international human rights law. Ultimately, the Court dismissed the suit in its entirety due to lack of jurisdiction. It ordered that both parties bear their own legal costs.
