The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ECOWAS

  • Guinea Bissau: ECOWAS to address political impasse at Dec. 17 summit

    Guinea Bissau: ECOWAS to address political impasse at Dec. 17 summit

    Leaders of the sub-region would address the situation in Guinea Bissau at their forthcoming summit on Dec. 17. This statement was made by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Chairperson, Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State Government.

    Sirleaf spoke while addressing newsmen at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja on Monday.

    The ECOWAS chairperson  described the situation in Guinea-Bissau as “very complicated, adding that “it is pertinent to choose a leader that reflected the will of the people.

    “The situation in Guinea-Bissau is very complex and has been that way for the past four years.

    “One has found an impasse in the situation, with several prime ministers coming and going.

    “It just remains one missing piece, and that piece is that of a prime minister, acceptable to all the people; that we have not found an answer to.

    “To find that consensus candidate has been a real challenge; it is something that I think all the Heads of States need to think about when we come to the summit on Dec. 17.

    “They can take a decision on that.”

    Sirleaf said that a delegation led by President Alpha Conde of The Republic of Guinea visited the country and a roadmap was developed.

    She said that the roadmap has since been endorsed by all parties in Guinea-Bissau.

    In April 2012, the military staged a coup d’état in that country, and military leaders and a coalition of political parties announced the formation of a Transitional National Council, under international pressure.

    Guinea-Bissau has also been in a political impasse since August 2015, when President José Mario Vaz sacked then Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde.

    Vaz also dissolved the government on Nov. 12 in an attempt to solve a political succession crisis.

    A delegation from ECOWAS on Nov. 6 demanded that Vaz name a new prime minister and deal with dissenting deputies with the aim of resuming parliament’s normal functions.

  • Buhari tasks African leaders on socio-political stability

    Buhari tasks African leaders on socio-political stability

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday tasked African leaders on the need to ensure socio-political stability in their countries.

    This, he said, will help to achieve peace and speedy regional and sub-regional integration in the continent.

    He spoke during a joint press briefing with the visiting Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, after a closed door meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Even as he noted that the situation in the ECOWAS sub-region was relatively stable, he said there was need to continue to persuade the leaders to pay more attention to security and development.

    He said: “The situation in our sub-region is relatively stable but there is the need for us to continue to persuade our colleagues to show appreciation on the efforts the sub-region is doing to make sure that we pay more attention to security and development.

    “I have appreciated very much your efforts and I also congratulate you on your successes. I believe you may even go outside the region, to African Union, so that before the AU meeting we try and persuade the leadership of those countries in our sub-region to show more patience and accommodation with politics of their countries,” he added.

    He said that the forthcoming 3rd Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security would discuss some political developments in two countries of the sub-region.

    Commending the Liberian leader for handling the affairs of the ECOWAS diligently, Buhari lauded Sirleaf’s efforts in stabilizing her country.

    “I have to very sincerely congratulate you with the way you have stabilised your country and with the small contributions Nigeria was able to make throughout those difficult times that you went through.

    “And also thank you very much on the way you are handling ECOWAS responsibility. We have one or two countries that I believe we will discuss when we go to Senegal today, tomorrow and maybe on Wednesday, in terms of peace and security.’’

    The Liberian leader, who is also the Chairperson of the Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS nations, said she was in Nigeria to be updated on the focus and challenges of the work of the ECOWAS Commission.

    According to her, the visit is also meant enable her meet with the entities of ECOWAS, the Commission, the Parliament and the Courts in preparation for the forthcoming Summit of the Authority of the ECOWAS, slated for Abuja on Dec. 17.

    “I’m glad once again to be back in Abuja. I’m using the opportunity of this visit to be updated on the focus and challenges of the work of the ECOWAS Commission, to meet with the entities of ECOWAS, the Commission, the Parliament and the Courts in preparation for the reports I will present at the Summit of the Authority, which will be held here in Abuja, on Dec. 17.

    “But, I’m so grateful that while here, I reached out to the President and asked him for the opportunity to call on him to be able to brief him on some of the findings I have had in my two days of consultation with the commission.

    “I also exchange with him  some of the developments in our sub-region, political development; economic development, and to get his wise counsel on how we can ensure that we monitor the situation in  all the West African countries so as  to maintain peace and stability in all of our countries,” She stated.

  • Lagos lawmakers partner ECOWAS parliament on legislative process

    Lagos lawmakers partner ECOWAS parliament on legislative process

    Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has gotten the approval of the ECOWAS Parliament to integrate state lawmakers into their programmes with a view to developing the socio-economy of the various states and regions of member countries.

    The Lagos Speaker stated made this known over the weekend, when he received a delegation of the ECOWAS Parliament which visited the State House of Assembly after participating in a programme on maritime security in Lagos.

    Obasa said, “I want to urge the leadership of the ECOWAS Parliament to look at ways of integrating members of the state Houses of Assemblies. This will afford to interact on various development programmes for the states and regions of the ECOWAS member countries.”

    He stated further that there is need for collaboration with the ECOWAS Parliament on need to improve trade legislations aimed at improving and developing the economy of the states.

    “Here in Lagos, there is a robust trade and commerce structures and we are always ready to collaborate with other states and countries for mutual benefits of all of us,” Obasa said.

    Dr. Nelson Magbagbeola, Secretary General of the ECOWAS Parliament assured the Lagos Assembly Speaker that the Parliament was already putting measures in place to integrate state lawmakers in the activities of the Parliament.

    Speaking earlier, a member of the Parliament and Chairman of its Committee on Gender Rights, Honourable Kaboubie Reine Bertille Benao Sakande, from Burkina Faso, who spoke on behalf of other parliamentarians on the entourage, told the Lagos Assembly Speaker that they were on a programme in Lagos and deemed it fit to visit the state Assembly.

    “We are aware of the good job you are doing here and we decided to visit you,” she said.

    Obasa later took the visiting parliamentarians on a tour of facilities in the House.

    There were 30 parliamentarians spread across Nigeria, Togo, Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone on the entourage while the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon Oluyinka Ogundimu; and his counterpart in the Committee on Information, Strategy and Security, Hon Tunde Buraimo as well as the acting Clerk of the House, Mr Azeez Sanni joined the Speaker in playing host to members of the delegation.

  • Nigeria to host workshop on chemical weapons

    Nigeria is billed to host an international workshop on Assistance and Protection Against Chemical Weapons in Abuja.

    The workshop, which will hold at the ECOWAS Secretariat Asokoro, will start from Monday, October 31 to Friday, November 4, 2016.

    This was contained in a statement issued by the Director (Press) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Bolaji Adebiyi.

    The workshop, the statement said, is organized by the Political and Economic Affairs Department in the Office of the SGF in conjunction with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Hague, Netherlands.

    It reads: “A team of Experts from OPCW will participate at the workshop as resource persons while participants are drawn amongst critical stakeholders in both the public and private sectors in Nigeria.

    “The workshop will focus on issues that seek to identify toxic threats and hazards; support the development of national chemical risk assessment reports; identify gaps based on the audit of country’s current capabilities and identify standards to be achieved in assistance and protection; and finally, assist in the development of a counter chemical threats capability as basis for a National Protection Programme,” It stated.

  • Immigration nabs 35 illegal migrants

    In a bid to rid Lagos State of illegal migrants, the Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service have apprehended and repatriated 35 immigrants found to be without any form of documentation and living in the Lekki axis of the state.

    The arrests were made following a tip off of some of the residents.

    Among those arrested were four Ghanaians; nine Beninoise; three Togolese and 19 Nigeriennes.   

    Comptroller General of the Command, Mrs. Clara Okojie noted that though ECOWAS protocol allows citizens of member states to move freely among nations, those who desire to stay in Nigeria more than 90 days are meant to register at its Divisional Offices in Local Government of residence.

    Those caught had no form of documentation and were thus sent back to their origin country.

    She called on the public to ensure that such ECOWAS nationals, upon employment must show proper documentation before being offered employment.

  • Dasuki and ECOWAS court judgment

    SIR: On Tuesday, October 4, the ECOWAS Court declared the arrest and continued detention of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki as unlawful, unreasonable and arbitrary. The court reportedly held “that the further arrest of Mr. Dasuki by government on November 4, after he was granted bail by a court of law, amounts to a mockery of democracy and the rule of law.”

    The three-member panel led by Justice Friday Nwoke declared that the Nigerian government was wrong in arresting Mr. Dasuki, searching his residence and confiscating his properties without a warrant. The court accordingly ordered the immediate release of Dasuki and awarded N15 million damages in his favour.

    The Court was created pursuant to the provisions of Articles 6 and 15 of the Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). By virtue of Article 10 of the Supplementary Protocol of the ECOWAS Court adopted in January 2005 by the Authority of Heads of States and Government, individuals, corporate bodies and non governmental organizations have direct access to the court for the enforcement of human rights.

    Is the decision of the court binding on Nigeria?

    Article 15 (4) of the Revised Treaty of ECOWAS provides thus:

    “Judgements of the Court of Justice SHALL BE BINDING on the Member States, the institutions of the Community and on individuals and corporate bodies.” As a signatory to the Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria is legally bound by the judgment of the court. Having submitted itself freely to the jurisdiction of the Court, it will be disingenuous for the same government to resile from its obligations under the Revised Treaty and the relevant Protocol and Supplementary Protocol relating to the Court.

    However, that is not the end of the matter.

    On implementation of treaties, Section 12 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) states as follows: “No treaty between the Federation and any other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which such Treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly”.

    The National Assembly has not domesticated or enacted the Revised Treaty and the Protocols relating to the Court into law.

    In the Dasuki’s case, though the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights was among the laws relied upon by the court and has been domesticated vide African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Chapter 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 (now Chapter A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004), the judgment of the court does not have the force of law in Nigeria. The reason is that it is the Revised Treaty and Protocols relating to the court that established the court and clothed it with jurisdiction over cases of human rights violations in member states and not the African Charter. The charter can only have force of law from decisions of Nigerian courts until the National Assembly enacts the Revised Treaty into law.

    Under Article 24 (4) of the Supplementary Protocol, each member state is expected to determine a competent national authority that will be responsible for the enforcement of the court’s decisions, in accordance with her own rules of civil procedure. Interestingly, Nigeria is among the three member states (others are Guinea and Togo) that have put in place appropriate mechanisms for the enforcement of judgments by the court.

    Nigeria can either follow the path of honour and responsibility not only as a member but as the ‘super power’ of ECOWAS by releasing Dasuki as ordered by the court in consonance with her treaty obligations, or take refuge in the non domestication of the Revised Treaty and continue to detain him.

    No matter how repugnant and grievous the alleged infractions of Dasuki are; irrespective of how majority of Nigerians feel about Dasuki and his unpatriotic mismanagement of defence funds, the judicial and legal process must run its full course unimpeded.

    The executive cannot and should never be the accuser, prosecutor and the judge. President Buhari should come to terms with the tenets of democracy.

    In the final analysis, the path taken by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government will have far reaching implications on the image of Nigeria and the perception of not only Nigerians but the international community and investors on the inclination of the government on issues of human rights, rule of law and democracy.

     

    • Inibehe Effiong,

    inibehe.effiong@gmail.com

     

  • ECOWAS Court to assist in combat against money laundering, terrorism financing 

    ECOWAS Court to assist in combat against money laundering, terrorism financing 

    …expresses concern over lack of access to court

    The ECOWAS Court has promised to assist Nigeria in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism within West African-region.

    The community’s court president, Justice Jerome Traore said the two scourge must be fought at all cost.

    He spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2016-2017 Legal year in Abuja with the theme “The  role of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism within the West African Sub-region.”

    Justice Traore said the court intended to offer assistance to ECOWAS and it’s members in the efforts being made towards the prevention and containment of these crimes.

    The court, he assured will work within it’s legal power to ensure the enforcement of the rules.

    He said, “This double-headed scourge must therefore be combated at all cost, and the Community Court of Justice, in it’s capacity as the principal legal organ of ECOWAS, cannot remain on the sidelines of this battle which is being fought almost all over the world, and notably within our ECOWAS space, for almost two decades.

    “The Court thus means to offer in resolute terms the needed assistance to ECOWAS and it’s member states in the efforts being made towards the prevention and containment of these crimes.

    “The Court will of course do so within the confines of the powers currently conferred upon it, by particularly ensuring, without sacrificing their potency, that the rules and procedure in force, are in all respects, in consonance with the observance of human rights and guarantee of the rule of law.”

    While also expressing the concern of the court to the lack of access to the court, Justice Troare said ECOWAS court is thinking with the idea of providing legal aid fund to empower destitute litigants.

    According to him, “The ECOWAS Court of justice remains concerned, in equal measure, by the issue of the need of ensuring ease of access to the Court. We are indeed conscious that, progress in the area of human rights defense-an area which virtually occupies the centre stage of the activities of our court today-is obtainable, in practical terms, by the extent of accessibility of litigants of the Court.

    “That is why, for the purposes of facilitating access to justice, it shall be necessary to provide the court with legal aid fund, so as to empower destitute litigants, whenever they deem themselves victims of arbitrariness, to cone before the Court, to claim their rights. It would be regrettable, to say the least, if for financial reasons, a community citizen should remain helpless while his rights are being abused.”

    He further promised that the “new Bureau of the Court intends to pursue and extend further the steps already taken, and it will do everything possible to ensure that the Community Court of Justice remains, as it has been in past, a guarantor of human rights and a safeguard against arbitrariness in the sub-region.”

    To thIS end, he added that “further steps will be taken towards improving upon the output of the Court.”

    “Also, in the course of this year, we will need to put in greater efforts to bring the court closer to those whose right it is to seek justice before our court, for a great number of those who desire to bring their case before the court do not always have the financial means required for doing so.

    “Some efforts have already been made in that direction, through the organisation of external court sessions in the member states of ECOWAS, but we can do more for the qualified potential litigants of our community who remain destitute.”

    The guest speaker, Col. Adama Coulibaly, Director General, Inter-Governmental Action Group against money laundering in West Africa (GIABA) explained that while there are differences between money laundering and financing of terrorism, the techniques used to launder money and finance terrorist activities/terrorism are very similar and in many instances identical.

    Coulibaly added that, “the effects of money laundering and financing of of terrorism are both difficult to quantify.”

    He therefore stressed that GIABA’s mandate is focused in ensuring the implementation of acceptable international anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism measures.
    GIABA Boss, also expressed concern about the none adoption of the ECOWAS protocol for the prevention of corruption fifteen years after.

    He noted that the region could not enforced the protocol as it was yet to be ratified. So far only eight member states have ratified the protocol when it needs nine states to do so before it cam be enforced.

    GIABA is mandated by it’s statutes to combat the laundering of proceeds from crime and finance of terrorism.

  • EU leaders to UK: We regret but respect your decision

    EU leaders to UK: We regret but respect your decision

    The leaders of the European Union (EU) have expressed regret over the decision of Britain to leave the union but say they respect the decision of the people.

    This is contained in a joint statement issued by the EU leaders on Friday in Brussels obtained from the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS in Abuja.

    The EU leaders included Donald Tusk, President of the European Council and Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament.

    The others were Prime Minister Mark Rutte, holder of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.

    The statement said Tusk, Schulz and Rutte met on Friday morning in Brussels on the invitation of Juncker, and discussed the outcome of the United Kingdom referendum.

    “In a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union. We regret this decision but respect it.

    “This is an unprecedented situation but we are united in our response.

    “We will stand strong and uphold the EU’s core values of promoting peace and the well-being of its peoples,” the leaders jointly stated.

    They pledged that the remaining members of the EU would carry on with the vision of the union.

    “The Union of 27 member states will continue. The Union is the framework of our common political future.

    “We are bound together by history, geography and common interests and will develop our cooperation on this basis.

    “Together we will address our common challenge to generate growth, increase prosperity and ensure a safe and secure environment for our citizens.

    “The institutions will play their full role in this endeavour,” the EU leaders said.

    They, however, asked the UK to, as a matter of urgency, formalise its exit without any further delay.

    “We now expect the United Kingdom government to give effect to this decision of the British people as soon as possible, however painful that process may be.

    “Any delay will unnecessarily prolong uncertainty. We have rules to deal with this in an orderly way.

    “Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union sets out the procedure to be followed if a Member State decides to leave the European Union,” they said.

    According to them, the UK, technically, remains a member of the EU until it fulfills all the conditions for its formal withdrawal.

    “We stand ready to launch negotiations swiftly with the United Kingdom regarding the terms and conditions of its withdrawal from the European Union.

    “Until this process of negotiations is over, the United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union, with all the rights and obligations that derive from this.

    “According to the Treaties which the United Kingdom has ratified, EU law continues to apply to the full to and in the United Kingdom until it is no longer a Member.”

    “As agreed, the New Settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union”, reached at the European Council on Feb. 18 to 19, 2016, will now not take effect.

    “It ceases to exist. There will be no renegotiations,” the EU leaders said.

    They, however, pledged continued close relationship with the UK in their future dealings.

    “As regards the United Kingdom, we hope to have it as a close partner of the European Union also in the future.

    “We expect the United Kingdom to formulate its proposals in this respect.

    “Any agreement, which will be concluded with the United Kingdom as a third country, will have to reflect the interests of both sides and be balanced in terms of rights and obligations,” the leaders said.

  • ECOWAS ministers discuss non-tariff obstacles to regional trade

    Representatives from trade ministries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the International Trade Centre (ITC), and other trade, Customs and regional organisations scheduled a meeting  in Abidjan on June 14 and 15 to discuss ways of removing regulatory and procedural non-tariff’ obstacles to regional trade.

    The roundtable, co-organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and ITC, is being attended by Jean-Louis Billon, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister for Commerce; Aicha Pouye, ITC’s Director of Business and Institutional Support, and delegates from the 15 ECOWAS countries.

    ITC would present insights on obstacles to regional trade within the ECOWAS bloc drawn from national business surveys on non-tariff measures (NTMs) in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Senegal. These surveys, which collectively document the experiences of nearly 2,000 exporters and importers, capture the trade-related challenges encountered at the product and partner country level by companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

    NTMs cover measures include sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards (SPSs), technical barriedrs to trade (TBTs), price control measures, import and export licensing, inspection, as well as rules determining the origin of goods for the purposes of tariff treatment.

    Ms. Pouye said: “The trade landscape of the 21st century is one characterised by low tariffs with the average global applied tariff reflecting around five per cent of the cost of trade, while non-tariff measures may account for roughly 30 per cent of international trade costs. It is important to identify these measures and focus on where barriers can be alleviated and regional harmonisation accomplished.

  • ECOWAS Court orders govt to pay $3.25m damages to victims of Abuja killings

    The West African court yesterday  ordered Nigeria to pay $3.25 million in compensation to families and victims for the extrajudicial killings of eight civilians and the injuring of 11 others shot by soldiers and secret service agents in Abuja.

    The court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said there is no evidence to back the stance of the Nigerian army and Department of Security Services that troops fired in self-defense on an alleged group of Boko Haram extremists the night of Sept. 20, 2013.

    The three-judge panel led by Judge Friday Chijioke Nwoke found the Nigerian state liable for the “barbaric, illegal and unconstitutional” deaths and injuries. It ordered the government to pay $200,000 to the families of each man killed and $150,000 to each of those injured.

    Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission investigated the shootings and also ordered the government to pay victims compensation.

    The victims in the Apo suburb of Abuja were squatting in an unfinished building. At the time, the military did not respond to media reports suggesting the raid was requested by a retired army officer who owned the building and wanted the squatters out.

    The court case was brought up by a nonprofit organisation representing the victims