Janet Oyeleye
The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has found the Federal Republic of Nigeria liable for violating the fundamental rights of journalist and President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, FCT Correspondents’ Chapel, Mr. Jide Oyekunle, during the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests in Abuja. The court ordered the government to pay him ₦10 million in compensation.
In a landmark judgment delivered on June 22, 2026, in Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/29/25, the regional court held that Nigerian authorities violated Jide’s rights to freedom of expression, personal liberty, human dignity, protection against torture and degrading treatment, and the right to own and enjoy property. The violations followed his treatment by security agents while he was covering the protest at Eagle Square on August 1, 2024.
The court also directed the Nigerian government to submit, within three months, a report detailing steps taken to implement the judgment. It further ordered the government to bear the costs of the proceedings.
Jide had approached the regional court alleging that police officers assaulted him, unlawfully detained him, and confiscated his professional equipment while he was performing his duties as a journalist during the protest. He claimed that security operatives fired tear gas at the protest venue, seized his mobile phone for about eight hours, and damaged his Canon camera. He further alleged that he was subsequently subjected to unlawful surveillance and the monitoring of his telephone communications.
The journalist sought declarations that his rights to freedom of expression, liberty, dignity, property, and privacy had been breached. He also demanded ₦505 million in general and special damages.
The Nigerian government denied the allegations and argued that the protest had become violent, necessitating the deployment of security personnel to secure the Three Arms Zone in Abuja. It further contended that Jide’s temporary detention was lawful and resulted from his refusal to comply with directives issued by law enforcement officers.
However, the three-member panel of the court, presided over by Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves and comprising Justices Sengu Mohamed Koroma and Edward Amoako Asante, dismissed the government’s defence. The court held that the applicant was engaged in legitimate journalistic activity on a matter of significant public interest, and that the state failed to provide any lawful basis for interfering with his work or confiscating his mobile phone.
The court ruled that the actions of security agents amounted to a violation of the journalist’s right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The judges further held that Nigeria failed to produce evidence of any judicial warrant or lawful process to justify Jide’s detention. Consequently, the court declared the detention arbitrary and a breach of his right to liberty and security of person.
Relying on video and photographic evidence tendered by the applicant, the court also found that security agents physically assaulted and dragged the journalist while he was carrying out his professional duties. It ruled that such treatment amounted to degrading treatment and torture, and faulted the Nigerian authorities for failing to conduct an effective investigation into the allegations.
The court equally held that there was sufficient evidence to establish that Jide’s mobile phone was unlawfully confiscated during the protest, thereby violating his right to own and enjoy property.
However, the regional court declined to award special damages relating to the alleged destruction of his camera, holding that the evidence presented was insufficient to establish state responsibility for the damage. It also dismissed his claim that his right to privacy had been violated, ruling that he failed to provide sufficient evidence linking the alleged surveillance, interception of communications, and deletion of data to state security agents.
The judgment is one of the most significant pronouncements by the ECOWAS Court on the protection of journalists and press freedom in recent years. It comes amid persistent concerns by media and human rights organisations over the treatment of journalists covering protests and civil unrest in Nigeria.
The ruling reinforces the principle that journalists performing their professional duties, particularly while reporting on matters of public interest, are entitled to protection under regional and international human rights instruments. It also affirms that states have a legal obligation to ensure that security operations do not infringe upon fundamental freedoms guaranteed by law.
