Falana sues AGF for Nigeria’s inability to access African Court

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has filed a suit
before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order directing
the Federal Government to accept the competence of the African
Court on Human and Peoples Rights to hear cases presented by
Nigerians.

In the suit filed on Friday and marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/356/2019, the
plaintiff noted that Nigeria is among the African nations whose
citizens cannot access the court because their countries have yet
to make the needed declaration accepting the continental court’s
competence to receive cases from the country.

Nigeria, which currently has a representative on the bench of
the African court, is among the 30 member states of the African
Union that have ratified the protocol establishing the court, which
is based in Arusha, Tanzania.

But Article 34(6) of the Protocol for the establishment of the
African Court on Human and Peoples Rights requires every member of
the African Union to make a declaration accepting the competence of
the African Court to receive cases from Non-Governmental
Organisations and individuals in the countries.

Only nine member states, namely, Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso,
Cote D’voire, Ghana, Gambia, Mali, Malawi, and Tanzania, have made
the declaration recognising the competence of the court.

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