Judge: court can’t compel Nigeria to subscribe to African Court

Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has held that Nigeria cannot be compelled under any law to subscribe to the authority of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).

Justice Tsoho stated this while rejecting a suit by activist lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) in which he, among others, prayed the court to direct the Federal Government to accept the competence of the African Court to hear cases presented by Nigerian citizens.

In the suit, Falana argued that Nigerians were unable to file cases before the court because the country had not made the needed declaration accepting the court’s competence to receive cases from Nigeria.

But in a judgment on Tuesday evening, Justice Tsoho held that his court was without the requisite jurisdiction to grant the prayers sought by the plaintiff.

The judge held that the law establishing the ACHPR has made provisions for how member states could make the needed declaration, which did not include that a state could be compelled.

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Justice Tsoho noted that the use of the word: “optional,” in the law establishing the court,  as it relates to the issue of declaration, implies that member states are allowed to exercise discretion in deciding whether or not they should make the declaration.

He added that if the contrary was intended, the African Charter, which Nigeria has signed, would have expressed reflected it.

Justice Tsoho said, since the Charter itself, has not provided any mechanism for compelling members states to declare acceptance of the competence of the African Court, it would wrong to grant the applicant’s prayer, to compel the respondent to make the declaration.

The judge, who noted that all member state of the African Union have existing judicial systems, held that there was no basis for the fear expressed by the applicant that Nigerians in Diaspora cannot seek redress where their rights are violated.

he said since every African state has a judicial system, any aggrieved Diaspora Nigerian citizen, could seek redress from courts in their countries of residence, where their rights are infringed.