By Vivian Okejeme Abuja
An International Civil Group, Egalitarian Mission for Africa (EMA) has dragged President Bola Tínubu of Nigeria before the Economic Community of West African (ECOWAS) Court of Justice, invoking the Protocols of the Court to stop the planned military action against the Republic of Niger over coup plot.
The group in the suit instituted on its behalf by a Nigerian lawyer, Dr Oluwakayode Ajulo, OON, is praying the Regional Court to invoke relevant ECOWAS treaties and international laws to stop the military invasion of Niger Republic being spearhead by the Nigerian Government.
The grouse of the Civil Group, among others, is that the planned military action or invasion will run foul of the obligations in the ECOWAS treaties and therefore amounting to illegality.
The suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/3/23 emphasized categorically that ECOWAS treaties prohibit aggression among member States.
Apart from the Egalitarian Mission for Africa (EMA), other plaintiffs in the matter are a former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of the Internal Affairs (NIIA), Professor Bola Akinterinwa and a Nigerian Northern Region lawyer, Hamza Nuhu Dantani.
Defendants are ECOWAS, Authority of Heads of State & Government of ECOWAS, President of ECOWAS Mission, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Republic of Niger.
A military group led by General Abdourhamane Tchiani had on July 26 toppled the civilian and democratic government of President Mohammed Bazoun who has since been clamped into unlawful military detention.
Although the three plaintiffs in the regional suit described the coup detat as most unfortunate, they however warned that Nigeria should not travel the dangerous road of military hostilities that may further escalate the crisis in the Niger Republic.
According to them, over 300,000 refugees, mainly Nigeria citizens, have already fled the Niger Republic adding that military action against Niger Republic would lead to breach of fundermrntal rights to life, right to dignity of human persons and liberty to life.
The plaintiffs therefore prayed the ECOWAS Court of Justice for a restraining order against any form of military action in Niger Republic that may undermine the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Niger Republic.
Besides the Court action, the plaintiffs’ Counsel, Dr Ajulo wrote a strongly worded letter to President Tinubu, notifying him of pendency of the suit and invoking the Protocol of the ECOWAS Court on the need to respect and obey the rule of law as well as to refrain from doing that will militate against the subject matter.
The letter is entitled “Notification of Pendency of case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice ; Call For Strict Adherence To The Protocol of the Honourable Court of the ECOWAS Commumity Court of Justice’.
It read in part “We are Counsel to the Plaintiffs/Applicants in the above case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice and it is on their firm and unequivocal instructions that we write.
“Sequel to the Resolution and several sanctions imposed by the ECOWAS in the aftermath of the unfortunate and unconstitutional takeover of the democratically elected Government of the Republic of Niger, we have lodged a Case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in an application for reliefs as the proposed military intervention in the Republic of Niger would be tantamount to aggression between ECOWAS Member States.”
