Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, seeking $10 million in damages over alleged violations of his fundamental rights during successive military administrations.
The suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/30/2026, was filed in Abuja and covers a series of incidents Falana says occurred between the 1980s and 1990s.
According to the application, Falana is asking the regional court to declare several arrests, detentions, movement restrictions, alleged abduction and seizure of personal documents unlawful.
He is relying on rights guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and applicable ECOWAS legal instruments, including protections relating to personal liberty, dignity, fair hearing, property and freedom of movement.
Falana traced his first major confrontation with the authorities to his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Oyo State between 1982 and 1983.
During the period, he represented students of the University of Ibadan who had been charged with conspiracy and attempted murder following a dispute involving the university’s vice-chancellor.
Falana said the NYSC authorities subsequently withheld his discharge certificate because he had represented the students without official permission.
“Even though the applicant completed the service, the authorities of the National Youth Service Corps seized his discharge certificate for defending the students without official permission,” the application stated.
The lawyer’s case also includes an alleged June 8, 1985 arrest, when he said armed agents of the then National Security Organisation (NSO) arrested him at the Lagos State High Court.
According to the application, the agents subsequently took him to his law chambers on Jebba Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos, where they conducted a search without a warrant.
Falana alleged that he was subsequently detained for several weeks at the former NSO facility on 15 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, alongside other political detainees. The allegations contained in the application have not been determined by the ECOWAS Court.
His claims also cover events during the administrations of former military leaders Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha, including alleged arrests, detention and restrictions connected to his human rights and pro-democracy activities.
Falana further cited an alleged 1990 abduction, saying security agents took him from his residence and later abandoned him in a remote area.
He also challenged an alleged 1991 restriction on his international travel, during which he said his passport was seized after he was prevented from travelling to Harare, Zimbabwe, to attend a human rights conference.
The application also refers to his arrests and prosecutions linked to activities surrounding the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by the military government.
Falana referred to former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s 2025 memoir, A Journey in Service, in which Babangida acknowledged that MKO Abiola won the June 12, 1993 election.
Falana argues that the acknowledgement is relevant to the circumstances surrounding the arrests and prosecution of activists who opposed the annulment. He also contends that no apology or effective remedy has been provided for the violations he says occurred during that period.
Among the reliefs sought by Falana are declarations that his various arrests between 1985 and 1996 violated his right to personal liberty under Article 6 of the African Charter.
He is also asking the court to determine that the alleged 1990 abduction violated protections relating to dignity and personal liberty, while the alleged 1991 travel restriction breached his freedom of movement under Article 12.
The lawyer is further asking the court to consider the alleged seizure of his NYSC discharge certificate and international passport as violations of his property rights under Article 14.
He also wants the court to rule on whether his 1992 and 1993 arraignments violated his right to fair hearing under Article 7 of the African Charter.
Falana is seeking US$10 million in damages for the alleged violations of his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, property and freedom of movement.
The allegations are contained in Falana’s application and have not been determined by the ECOWAS Court. The court will have to consider the evidence and arguments before deciding whether the alleged acts violated the rights relied upon and whether any remedy should be awarded.
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