ECOWAS Court Fines Ghana $75,000 For Unlawful Detention Of 30 Secessionists

The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the government of Ghana to pay $75,000 in damages to 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) for their prolonged and unlawful detention.

HSGF is said to be a nonviolent movement seeking self-determination for the people of Western Togoland. Members of the group have, over the years, been reportedly subjected to a series of arrests and detentions during nonviolent demonstrations.

In a judgment delivered on Friday in Abuja, the court found that the applicants’ fundamental human rights were violated when they were held without trial or due process for over a year.

The court awarded each applicant $2,500 to be paid in the Ghanaian cedi equivalent.

Presiding over the matter marked ECW/CCJ/APP/12/24, Justice Ricardo Gonçalves, with Justices Sengu M. Koroma and Dupe Atoki, ruled that the Ghanaian authorities acted in breach of both national and international human rights obligations.

The Court referenced Article 14(3) of Ghana’s Constitution and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, both of which guarantee the right to liberty and mandate that detainees be brought before a court within 48 hours.

“The applicants were arrested and held for extended periods, some for over a year, without being brought before a court. This is clearly a violation of their right to liberty,” Justice Gonçalves said.

The 30 applicants were arrested on May 8, 2019, under Ghana’s 1976 Prohibited Organisations Decree, which criminalises activities by groups considered threats to national security. They argued that their detention was politically motivated and lacked a legal basis.

While affirming its jurisdiction over the case, the court struck out the Homeland Study Group Foundation as a party, citing its failure to provide registration documents and establish legal personality.

“No registration documents were presented. Therefore, the Foundation cannot be recognised as a legal entity before this Court,” the court ruled.

Despite this, the court upheld the claims of the 30 individuals, concluding that their prolonged detention was unlawful. It rejected Ghana’s justification of national security, stating that such claims do not override the need to follow due process.

“Even where national security is cited, detention must comply with the law. Detaining individuals for over a year without trial is unjustifiable,” the court ruled.

The judges also dismissed the applicants’ claims regarding the right to self-determination, stating that neither the Foundation nor its members had the legal standing to demand such rights on behalf of a people or community.

In addition to monetary compensation, the court ordered the Ghanaian government to either commence prosecution against the detainees within two weeks or release them unconditionally. All other claims were dismissed, and both parties were directed to bear their own legal costs.

The court noted that the full judgment will be formally issued once the panel of judges signs the document.

ECOWAS Court Fines Ghana $75,000 For Unlawful Detention Of 30 Secessionists is first published on The Whistler Newspaper