he Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice has ruled that the Nigerian government violated the fundamental human right to a fair hearing of 98-year-old Lagos resident, Mr. Kolawole O. A. Koiki. The ruling follows the government’s six-year failure to ensure that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) concluded its investigation into his decades-long complaint over the military seizure of his company shares.

Delivering the judgment virtually on November 17, 2025, a three-member panel of the Court held that the federal government’s failure to reconstitute the NHRC Governing Council between 2015 and 2021 caused an “unjustifiable and prolonged delay,” breaching Koiki’s right to have his case heard within a reasonable time, as guaranteed under Article 7(1)(d) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The Court awarded Koiki ₦5 million in general damages and ordered the Nigerian government to immediately ensure that his long-pending petition before the NHRC is heard and determined without further delay.

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Background

Koiki owned 216,000 out of the 480,000 shares of New Nigeria Salt Company Ltd, which were seized in 1978 under the military-issued New Nigeria Salt Company (Takeover) Decree No. 27. The decree nationalized the company and barred courts from hearing challenges to the seizure.

Over the decades, Koiki sought redress through multiple avenues. In 1999, he petitioned the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (the Oputa Panel), whose report was never officially released. After the 2010 NHRC Act amendments granted the Commission quasi-judicial powers, Koiki filed a fresh petition in 2014. The NHRC began preliminary investigations but was unable to act when the federal government dissolved all governing boards nationwide in 2015. The NHRC board was only reconstituted in August 2021, prompting Koiki to escalate the matter to the ECOWAS Court.

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ECOWAS Court’s Findings

Nigeria argued that the NHRC’s inaction was beyond its control and that Koiki could have sought remedies in domestic courts. The government also claimed the 1978 takeover was a public policy matter, not a human rights issue.

The ECOWAS Court rejected these arguments, emphasizing that the case concerned Nigeria’s failure to provide timely access to a competent national body capable of adjudicating Koiki’s complaint. The judges noted:

“The dissolution of the governing council and failure to reconstitute it for six years was an act of the Respondent state. Nigeria cannot extricate itself from its own conduct.”

The Court also affirmed the NHRC’s status as a quasi-judicial body whose proceedings fall under the protections of Article 7 of the African Charter, reinforcing its role amid concerns about administrative delays weakening oversight bodies.

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Compensation and Orders

Although Koiki sought ₦5 billion in damages, the Court awarded ₦5 million, citing the equitable nature of compensation in cases of procedural rights violations. Additionally, the judgment requires the Nigerian government to take “all necessary measures” to resume and conclude the NHRC’s handling of Koiki’s petition. Each party was ordered to bear its own legal costs.

For Koiki, who filed the ECOWAS case at age 94 and is now nearly 100, the ruling represents a critical milestone in his long pursuit of justice. His lawyers, led by Femi Falana, SAN, highlighted that the delays had denied him closure within his lifetime—a concern explicitly acknowledged by the Court.