As part of measures to protect rights of citizens, the ECOWAS
Community Court of Justice has urged citizens of member state to
seek redress against all forms of human rights violations by
approaching it for the protection of their rights.
Justice Dupe Atoki, a member of the Court, stated weekend while
addressing the media briefing on the Sensitisation Programme of the
ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Lagos, Nigeria.
Atoki said that the reason for sensitisation was because there was
a lack of full knowledge of the existence of the ECOWAS Court of
Justice and its working.
According to her, in view of the low level of awareness, the
court had to sensitise citizens by collaborating with every
relevant stakeholder that could spread and provide adequate means
in which the citizens would get to know their rights.
Atoki explained: “Individuals can access the court by lodging
complaints of violations of human rights against their rights from
any member states.
”The headquarters of the court is in Abuja, and that is the seats
of proceedings, that is where all complaints with regards to a
violation can be lodged by any individual who feels aggrieved by
infractions of state governments.”
The Justice said that against Nigeria, 25 judgments had been
rendered, for which 11 of those judgments had been implemented.
”And of course, that does not score an excellent record of
compliance. And one of the reasons is mainly due to the fact that
member states still need to understand their responsibility when
they establish organs that hold them accountable,” she said.
Atoki added that judges remained function officials, once they
had delivered judgement, “it is not the duty of the court to press
government to obey court orders.
“Once judgment has been delivered, the information is passed to
the ECOWAS Commission, who is responsible for bringing the judgment
to the attention of the relevant member state for compliance.
”And to that extent, the judges have no role to play in the
implementation of the judgment, other than to raise the concern and
hope that this will be addressed by the relevant member states,”
she said.
A Senior Legal Officer and member of the Court, Yusuf Danmadami
said that the ECOWAS Court was one of the key institutions of
ECOWAS and functioned as the principal legal organ of the
Community.
According to Danmadami, the purpose of the sensitisation
programme and advocacy visit was basically to sensitise ECOWAS
Community Citizens in Lagos State on the role, mandate and
functions of the Court with regards to the protection and enjoyment
of their fundamental rights.
He said that if any Community was desirous of having a rapid and
more meaningful regional integration, it must be willing and
prepared to invest particularly in institutions that would make
people develop their potentials with dignity.
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Professor Zulum Borno Governor
Boko Haram: Gov Zulum Seeks Spiritual Interventions in
Kaaba
Borno Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum has entered an
arrangement with 30 residents of Makkah who will on permanent
basis, offer daily ‘Dawaf’ (circumambulation of the holy Ka’aba )
to offer prayers for the return and sustenance of peace in Borno
State and the rest of Nigeria.
The 30 persons, all of them with Nigerian origin from Borno,
Katsina, Zamfara, Kano and parts of the northwest, have for tens of
years devoted themselves to spending hours at the Ka’aba everyday
for the purpose of worship. An old man amongst them, is said to
have remained a Ka’aba devotee in the last 40 years. The Ka’aba is
Islam’s holiest area located inside the grand Al-Haram mosque in
Makkah.
The Governor’s spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, who shared this at
the weekend, said the critical move aimed to combine different
approaches that include sustained support for the Nigerian Armed
forces, aggressive mass recruitment and equipping of more
counter-insurgency volunteers into the Civilian JTF, hunters and
vigilantes as well as socioeconomic approach in enhancing access to
education, job opportunities and providing other means of
livelihood through social protection initiatives.
Gusau, who was present during Governor Zulum’s brief interaction
with the devotees on Friday evening around the Ka’aba, said the
Governor was there to convey his deepest gratitude and to seek
continued prayers.
“Rather than sending anyone, I am here to, on behalf of the good
people of Borno State thank you so much for your empathy and the
compassion in devotion yourselves to praying for us every day at
the Ka’aba which for us as Muslims, is the most sacred place. We
need these prayers more than ever before. We are handling our
problem from different approaches. Prayer is key in everything that
we seek. We will continue to seek prayers from many fronts. We will
keep supporting our clerics of different faiths in Nigeria for the
same prayers and we will seek the same from all of you that are
always here around the Holy Ka’aba. I basically will beg that you
continue to pray for us towards achieving three things: first, for
us to regain peace in Borno State, all of the north and Nigeria in
general.
We will have to continue that prayer on permanent basis because
we need peace that will be sustained. Secondly, we need prayers for
us to achieve our ambitious plan for Borno state and lastly for
Allah to make us remain focused and not to get carried away by
power” Zulum told the devotees, as quoted by his spokesperson.
Gusau explained that the Governor has already returned to
Nigeria on Saturday.