Falana sues Nigeria over decades of rights violations
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, SAN, has instituted proceedings before the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against the Federal Republic of Nigeria over alleged violations of his fundamental rights spanning several military administrations.
In the suit, numbered ECW/CCJ/APP/30/2026, filed before the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, Falana alleges that his rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person, fair hearing, property and freedom of movement were violated at various times between the 1980s and 1990s.
Falana, a former President of the West African Bar Association, has been involved in human rights and public accountability advocacy since his call to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
According to the application, his first major confrontation with the authorities occurred during his National Youth Service in Oyo State between 1982 and 1983, when he represented students of the University of Ibadan who had been charged with conspiracy and attempted murder.
He alleged that authorities subsequently withheld his NYSC discharge certificate because of his defence of the students, adding that the case was eventually decided in favour of the students.
Falana further alleged that on June 8, 1985, he was arrested at the Lagos State High Court by armed agents of the then National Security Organisation (NSO), taken to his chambers and subjected to a search without a warrant.
He said he was subsequently detained for seven weeks at the NSO facility on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, with other political detainees.
Following the establishment of the Justice Samson Uwaifo Panel to investigate cases of detention, Falana appeared before the panel.
He, however, alleged that the explanation subsequently given by the security authorities for his detention was inaccurate.
The suit also recounts an alleged restriction on his movement in October 1991, when the State Security Service (SSS) allegedly prevented him from travelling to Harare, Zimbabwe, to attend a human rights conference and confiscated his international passport for six months.
Falana further alleged that he was abducted from his Lagos residence in April 1990 by SSS officials, taken towards the Lagos-Epe road and abandoned in a bush.
According to him, although the SSS denied involvement in the incident, his request for an investigation was rejected by the military authorities.
The application also recounts Falana’s arrest and detention in May 1992 alongside Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti and Baba Omojola.
They were subsequently transferred to Kuje, where Falana said they were held in connection with allegations of conspiracy and treasonable felony.
He alleged that a fundamental-rights application resulted in an order for his release, but that the military authorities failed to comply with the order.
He and the other detainees were subsequently arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court on charges of conspiracy and treasonable felony and were later admitted to bail.
The application refers to findings attributed to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and reports by Amnesty International concerning some of the arrests and detentions.
Falana also alleged that he was arrested and detained in connection with protests following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He said he, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, and Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti were charged with conspiracy, sedition and incitement after publicly challenging the annulment.
According to the application, court orders granting bail were not initially honoured and the three remained in detention until their release in August 1993.
The suit further recounts alleged arrests and detentions between 1994 and 1998, including incidents connected with Falana’s return from international human rights engagements, his advocacy concerning the trial of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other MOSOP leaders, and his participation in labour and human rights activities.
In one of the incidents cited, Falana alleged that he was arrested in March 1998 alongside nine other persons after delivering a paper at a labour workshop.
They were subsequently charged with conspiracy and unlawful assembly before a Chief Magistrate Court in Ilorin, but the case was eventually abandoned and struck out for want of diligent prosecution.
Babangida’s memoir
The suit also refers to the publication in February 2025 of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida’s memoir, A Journey in Service.
Falana contends that Babangida’s acknowledgment in the memoir that MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election is significant because he and other activists had previously been arrested and prosecuted for publicly challenging the annulment and publishing the election results.
He argues that despite the subsequent acknowledgment, there has been no apology or other effective redress for the arrests, detention and prosecution arising from his opposition to the annulment.
The application also refers to President Bola Tinubu’s attendance at the presentation of Babangida’s memoir and alleges that the Federal Government has not provided an apology or other remedy in respect of the violations complained of by Falana.
The allegations in the application are subject to determination by the ECOWAS Court.
Falana is asking the court to declare unlawful and unconstitutional his various arrests between 1985 and 1996, including those in 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996.
He is also asking the court to declare his alleged abduction on April 8, 1990, unlawful and unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated his rights to dignity and personal liberty under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Other reliefs sought include declarations on his alleged periods of detention at various security and correctional facilities, the alleged restriction of his movement to Zimbabwe in 1991, and the alleged seizure of his NYSC certificate and international passport.
Falana is further asking the court to declare unlawful his arraignment in 1992 before the Chief Magistrate Court, Gwagwalada, over allegations of conspiracy and treasonable felony, as well as his 1993 arraignment before the Chief Magistrate Court, Wuse, over allegations including conspiracy, sedition and unlawful assembly.
He is also seeking $10 million in damages for the alleged violations of his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, property and freedom of movement by agents of the Nigerian authorities between 1985 and 1996.
The suit is brought by Falana as a Nigerian and Community citizen and as a longstanding human rights lawyer and public-interest advocate.
