Solomon Okedara, a digital rights lawyer, says Nigerians are at liberty to approach the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) court in the event of violations of their fundamental rights.
Okedara, who spoke in an interview with the West African Pilot, made this comment when asked about his recent matter involving the declaration of blasphemy laws of Kano State and other similar laws in Nigeria as violations of right to freedom of expression. He said no nation has ever experienced true national development without entrenchment of the rule of law.
Okedara, who was the counsel to the applicant in the matter, said he initiated an action at the ECOWAS Court challenging perennial violation of the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of religion, and the right to life on the ground of blasphemy within the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Firstly, it is important to note that Nigeria is a signatory to a number of international instruments that guarantee the foregoing rights, and in the case of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), Nigeria did not only ratify it but it was also domesticated as a local law in Nigeria as African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) LFN 2004.
“This instrument places an obligation on the Nigerian government to protect the rights guaranteed in it in all jurisdictions within its territory, including the rights under reference in the action before the ECOWAS Court. On one hand the action challenged the consistent use and/or failure to prevent the use of criminal provisions bothering on the offence of blasphemy to arrest, arbitrarily detain, unlawfully prosecute, imprison and impose death sentence on citizens by the Nigerian government, and failure of the Nigerian government to prevent extra-judicial killing of citizens on the allegation of blasphemy which are clear violations of Nigeria government’s obligations under the ACHPR, ICCPR, UNCAT and other international instruments.”
Apart from the blasphemy case, the public interest lawyer recently handled a matter involving the delay in issuance of passport of Benita Ngozi Ezumezu by the Nigeria Immigration Service. The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ruled in December 2024 that delay in the issuance of a Nigerian passport beyond six weeks is a contravention of the law and violates the right to freedom of movement.
The lawyer said the ECOWAS Court, in the release on its official website, described the judgment as ‘landmark.’
“I am not sure how many of the court’s judgments have even earned the description of being a ‘landmark judgment.’ Secondly, this is the first judgment I know of anywhere in the world where a court struck down a blasphemy provision for its excessive or disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression (death sentence). Even the American case R.A.V. v City of St.Paul, Minnesota, only focused on the over breadth of the statutory provision, not the proportionality of the penalties. So for me, the judgment of the ECOWAS Court in this case is globally ground-breaking,” he said.
He called for the collaboration of ECOWAS member states to be able to arrive at effective enforcement mechanisms against non-compliance. “As to diplomatic consequences, while Nigeria remains a sovereign state, we cannot pre-empt levels of persuasion from states or blocs with an interest in religious freedom in Nigeria,” he noted.
Okedara explained that the blasphemy laws were not struck down merely because they were seen as negative legislation. He said the court noted that they were laws for legitimate concerns of public order but each of them fell short of important requirements of permissibility of restrictions to freedom of expression.
“The judgment sets a critical (pivotal) precedent in freedom of expression,” Okedara said in his personal comment on the case made available to BusinessDay.
“The precedent-setting judicial victory is not just a victory for Nigeria alone but a monumental step towards protection and advancement of freedom of expression globally. While freedom of expression, like most rights and freedoms, is not absolute, it is important to note that any restrictions or derogations thereto must be for a legitimate objective with proportional limitations and clearly defined in a law. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s blasphemy laws failed in this regard.
“The regional court faulting Nigeria’s blasphemy laws in that judgment sends a loud reminder that in a democracy, all voices, including critical voices and voices
of dissent, must be heard and they can only be silenced in strict adherence to rule of law.”
