The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has awarded damages totaling ₦21 million against the Republic of Ghana in a landmark judgment involving the alleged wrongful revocation of a Ghanaian citizen’s passport and the restriction of her right to enter her country.
The judgment was delivered on June 23, 2026, in the case of Mary Omerere v. Republic of Ghana (Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/25/25), an application filed before the regional court in May 2025.
The Court ruled in favour of Mary Omerere, a Ghanaian citizen by birth, who alleged that Ghanaian authorities unlawfully denied her passport renewal application and effectively prevented her from returning to Ghana after she married a Nigerian citizen.
Speaking to journalists after the judgment, lead counsel to the applicant, Samuel Ihensekhien, of the League of Public Interest Lawyers, alongside Dr. S. M. Oyeghe and Mike Ezeobi, explained that the case centred on Omerere’s claim that Ghanaian authorities arbitrarily questioned her nationality and revoked her travel documentation without due process.
According to the legal team, Omerere, formerly known by a different surname before marriage, was born a Ghanaian citizen. Following her marriage to Nigerian citizen Henry Obukohwo Omorere under Nigerian law, she applied for the renewal of her Ghanaian passport through the Ghana High Commission in Lagos and related diplomatic channels.
However, she allegedly encountered prolonged administrative delays and was ultimately denied the renewal of her passport. Officials reportedly questioned the authenticity of her birth documentation and advised her to obtain a Nigerian passport instead, despite her insistence that she remained a Ghanaian citizen by birth.
Her lawyers argued that the actions of Ghanaian authorities effectively deprived her of her nationality and rendered her unable to travel to Ghana, including preventing her from attending her grandmother’s funeral.
The applicant further told the Court that repeated efforts by her legal representatives to engage Ghanaian authorities, including requests for further verification and DNA testing, yielded no meaningful response.
She maintained that the situation caused significant emotional, financial, and family hardship, while also affecting her legal residency status in the United Kingdom.
Before the Court, Omerere sought declarations affirming her Ghanaian citizenship, findings that her fundamental rights had been violated, an order compelling the issuance of a new Ghanaian passport, and substantial monetary compensation.
In its judgment, the ECOWAS Court held that Ghana violated Omerere’s fundamental rights, including her right to freedom of movement and her right to nationality.
The Court specifically found that Ghana breached her right to leave and return to her country as guaranteed under Article 12(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 21(2) of the Constitution of Ghana.
The Court further ruled that Ghana unlawfully interfered with her right to nationality and that she had been arbitrarily deprived of the protections attached to her citizenship status.
In a significant aspect of the ruling, the Court emphasized that African citizens cannot be arbitrarily expelled from their countries or denied entry except in accordance with due process and applicable laws. The judgment reaffirmed the importance of respecting international and regional protections relating to nationality and freedom of movement.
The Court ordered the Republic of Ghana to communicate, within six months, its decision regarding Omerere’s passport and citizenship documentation status.
Additionally, the Court awarded ₦21 million in damages, equivalent to approximately $15,000, against the Republic of Ghana. It also directed that litigation costs, to be assessed by the ECOWAS Court Registry, be paid by the Ghanaian government.
The ruling is being viewed by legal observers as a significant affirmation of citizenship rights, freedom of movement, and protection against arbitrary deprivation of nationality within the ECOWAS region.
