Human rights lawyer and former President of the West African Bar Association (WABA), Femi Falana (SAN), has urged President Tinubu to show leadership by ensuring Nigeria complies with the judgments of the ECOWAS Court of Justice. He recently blasted the ECOWAS leadership for refusing to abide by the rule of law and democratic values.
Reacting to remarks made by President Tinubu during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, Falana said that Tinubu should not be hypocritical with his praise because ECOWAS leaders have clearly failed to uphold democracy.
He crticized the clear disregard for the ECOWAS Court’s rulings, citing a record number of unenforced judgments across the region. As of December 2024, Nigeria tops the list with 44 unenforced judgments, followed by Togo (27), Guinea (15), Mali (10), Sierra Leone (9), and many others.
According to him, the irony in several former heads of state, including Charles Taylor (Liberia), Laurent Gbagbo (Côte d’Ivoire), Boni Yayi (Benin), Mamadou Tanja (Niger), and Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso), who once rejected the Court’s rulings, and later running to the same institution to safeguard their human rights after leaving office, is very obvious.
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“With respect, the ECOWAS leaders have failed to uphold democratic norms and the rule of law. Hence, the region continues to witness unconstitutional changes of government.
In 2014, Nigeria designated the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice as the competent authority for enforcing ECOWAS Court judgments. It is embarrassing that Nigeria, under President Tinubu’s leadership as ECOWAS Chairman, is leading the list of violators,” he said.
He then appealed to President Tinubu to quickly instruct the Attorney-General, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to enforce all outstanding ECOWAS Court judgments, stressing that it is a compulsory step to bring back Nigeria’s credibility while reinforcing ECOWAS’s legal framework.
“To end the unwarranted embarrassment, Nigeria must lead by example. Compliance with ECOWAS Court rulings is not optional — it is a legal and moral obligation,” he added.
