Kekere-Ekun Challenges ECOWAS Court on Guidelines for Judgment Enforcement in Region

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has advised the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice to come up with guidelines that will facilitate the enforcement of its judgment by member states.

The CJN gave the advice on Monday, in Abuja, when she hosted a delegation of the ECOWAS Court led by the court’s President, Justice Ricardo Goncalves.

The visit by Goncalves and his team, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the CJN, Mr Tobi Soniyi, was to solicit the support of the CJN for the enforcement of the judgments of the ECOWAS Court.

The visitor lamented that due to lack of political will, and other challenges, 80 per cent of the court’s judgments could not be enforced.

Justice Goncalves therefore urged Nigeria to lead by example, claiming that if Nigeria enforces the court’s judgments, other member states will follow suit.

Responding, the CJN, Justice Kekere-Ekun, commended the ECOWAS Court for its landmark and impressive judgments on enforcement of fundamental human rights in the sub-region.

While recognising the importance of enforcement of the judgments of the ECOWAS Court, the CJN stressed that the enforcement of the court’s judgments lies mainly with the executive.

She subsequently advised the court to use the opportunity provided by its Bilateral Meeting on the Status of the Judgments of the Community Court of Justice of ECOWAS to develop a uniform procedure for the enforcement of the court’s judgments.

The statement added that Kekere-Ekun further counseled the judges of the court to consult widely with stakeholders to rework existing guidelines for enforcement of the court’s judgments.

Meanwhile, the CJN pledged support for the ECOWAS Court in areas of training through the National Judicial Institute (NJI).

Three other Justices of the Supreme Court, Justices Inyang Okoro, Adamu Jauro and Chioma Iheme-Nwosu were also in attendance.