Femi Falana, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has criticised Nigeria’s alleged failure to comply with some judgments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice.
Falana was responding to recent comments by President Bola Tinubu during ECOWAS’s 50th anniversary celebration in Lagos.
At the event, President Tinubu praised ECOWAS for promoting democracy. He said the organisation had helped by monitoring elections, helping to resolve conflicts, and strengthening important institutions like the ECOWAS parliament and court. According to Tinubu, these efforts have improved accountability, the rule of law, and people-focused governance.
However, Falana disagreed strongly with the president’s assessment. In a statement released on Sunday, the prominent lawyer said the reality is very different from what Tinubu claimed. He argued that ECOWAS leaders, including Nigeria, have consistently ignored the court’s decisions.
“With respect, the ECOWAS leaders have failed to uphold democratic norms and the rule of law. Hence, the region has continued to witness unconstitutional change of government,” the statement reads.
Falana said the leaders have treated the court’s decisions with disrespect for no good legal or political reason.
To support his argument, Falana shared official data from the court as of December 2024. The numbers show how many court judgments each member country has failed to enforce. Nigeria leads this troubling list with 44 unenforced judgments.
Read Also: Missing envoys stall Nigeria’s diplomacy
The complete ranking shows Togo in second place with 27 unenforced judgments, followed by Guinea with 15, and Mali with 10. Sierra Leone has 9 unenforced judgments, while Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal each have 8. Ghana has 6, Benin and Burkina Faso each have 5, Liberia has 4, The Gambia has 3, and Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau each have 1 unenforced judgment.
Falana pointed out the irony in how some leaders behave. He reminded current ECOWAS leaders that several of their predecessors who once ignored the court later came to the same court seeking protection for their human rights after leaving office.
These former leaders include Charles Taylor of Liberia, Laurent Gbagbo of Cote D’Ivoire, Boni Yayi of Benin, Mamadou Tanja of Niger, and Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso. Falana also mentioned that Mrs Doe, widow of the late Liberian leader Samuel Doe, has won a case in the court.
The human rights lawyer explained that, according to Article 24 of the ECOWAS court rules, each member country must choose a national authority to handle the court’s judgments. This authority is responsible for making sure the country follows through on court decisions.
In 2014, Nigeria appointed the attorney-general and minister of justice to serve as this national authority.
Falana called it extremely embarrassing that Nigeria has the most unenforced judgments, especially since President Tinubu currently chairs the Authority of Heads of State and Government. This is ECOWAS’s most important decision-making body.
To fix this embarrassing situation, Falana urged President Tinubu to take immediate action. He said the president should direct Lateef Fagbemi, the current attorney-general and minister of justice, to ensure Nigeria complies with all court decisions without further delay.
