Abuja, 21st November 2024 – The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, sitting in Abuja, has awarded ₦30 million in compensation to Glory Okolie, a 22-year-old woman who was allegedly enslaved and unlawfully detained by the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force in 2021.
Delivering the judgment, the court found that Okolie’s detention for over 90 days without due process violated her fundamental human rights as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution, international treaties, and legal frameworks.
Samuel Ihensekhien, a human rights lawyer based in Abuja who represented Okolie, revealed that the Federal Government, in its defense, admitted to the illegal detention but failed to justify the police’s actions.
The court’s decision comes after extensive hearings and follows an earlier ruling in 2022, where the Federal Government was fined ₦1 million for its failure to promptly file court processes, causing delays in the proceedings.
The case brought to light the ordeal Okolie endured after her arrest on June 17, 2021. She was allegedly used as a domestic servant by officers of the IRT for weeks and remained in detention until her release on March 23, 2022, after spending 248 days in custody.
Following her release, Ihensekhien, in collaboration with the One Love Foundation, a non-governmental organization advocating for good governance and justice, took the matter to the ECOWAS Court. They sought ₦100 billion in general and punitive damages for the violation of Okolie’s rights.
While the court granted ₦30 million as reparations, the judgment marks a significant step in holding the authorities accountable for human rights violations.
