Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has approached the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, seeking $10m compensation from the Federal Government over alleged violations of his rights during successive military regimes.
Falana, in the suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/30/2026, accused Nigerian authorities of unlawful arrests, detention, abduction, seizure of travel documents and other acts which he said violated rights guaranteed by regional and international human rights instruments.
The application, filed in Abuja, contains allegations dating back to the 1980s and extending into the 1990s, when Falana was actively involved in human rights advocacy and legal representation of activists and political detainees.
The allegations have not been determined by the ECOWAS Court.
Falana’s account began with his National Youth Service Corps posting in Oyo State between 1982 and 1983. He alleged that authorities withheld his NYSC discharge certificate after he represented students of the University of Ibadan who were facing criminal charges.
He also alleged that armed operatives of the then National Security Organisation arrested him at the Lagos State High Court on June 8, 1985.
According to the application, the operatives subsequently searched his law chambers without a warrant before detaining him for about seven weeks at the NSO facility on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Five years later, Falana alleged that he was abducted from his Lagos residence by officials of the State Security Service. He said the incident occurred in the early hours of April 8, 1990, when he was taken towards the Lagos-Epe road and later abandoned in a bush.
He claimed that although the SSS denied responsibility, the military authorities failed to investigate his complaint.
Falana further alleged that his international passport was confiscated in 1991, preventing him from attending a human rights conference in Harare, Zimbabwe. He said lawyer Olisa Agbakoba later presented his paper at the event on his behalf.
The suit also recounts Falana’s arrest in May 1992 alongside Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti and Baba Omojola. According to the application, the trio were arrested at the Lagos State High Court and subsequently transferred to Abuja, where they were detained at Kuje Correctional Centre.
Falana alleged that a court ordered his release on June 8, 1992, but that the military authorities did not immediately comply with the order.
The application further mentioned the arrest of the late human rights lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, following his efforts to secure the release of the detainees.
Falana, Fawehinmi, Ransome-Kuti and Omojola were later charged with conspiracy and treasonable felony over an alleged attempt to overthrow the Babangida administration.
Falana alleged that they were held incommunicado and denied access to lawyers of their choice, while the prosecution opposed their bail applications.
He also cited his arrest and prosecution following his opposition to the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
According to the application, Falana, Fawehinmi and Ransome-Kuti were arrested and prosecuted for offences including conspiracy, sedition and incitement, while some court orders granting them bail were allegedly not promptly obeyed.
The lawyer said his arrests continued between 1994 and 1998, linking the incidents to his human rights and labour activities, international engagements and campaign against the prosecution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People.
One of the incidents occurred in March 1998, when Falana alleged that he and nine others were arrested after he delivered a paper at a labour workshop. He said the case was eventually struck out after the prosecution failed to diligently pursue it.
Falana also referred to former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s memoir, A Journey in Service, published in February 2025, in which Babangida acknowledged that Moshood Abiola won the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He argued that the admission was relevant to the circumstances surrounding the arrests and prosecution of activists who opposed the annulment of the election.
In the ECOWAS suit, Falana is asking the court to declare the alleged arrests and detentions unlawful and contrary to his rights to personal liberty, dignity, fair hearing, property and freedom of movement.
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He is also seeking declarations that the alleged 1990 abduction was unlawful and that the seizure of his NYSC discharge certificate and international passport violated his rights.
Falana is demanding $10m in damages over the alleged violations committed by Nigerian authorities, particularly those arising from incidents between 1985 and 1996.
The ECOWAS Court is yet to rule on the claims contained in the application.
