The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has ordered the de-congestion of Nigerian prisons and a periodic review to end the prolonged detention of awaiting trial inmates in the country.
According to 2024 official statistics, of the estimated 79,237 inmate population in Nigeria, 26,718 were convicted, while 52,519 were awaiting trial, representing nearly 66 per cent of the total prisoner population.
In a judgement delivered on 15 May 2026 on case No ECW/CCJ/APP/05/25 filed by the Centre for Community Law, a Nigeria-registered NGO, over violations of the rights of awaiting-trial inmates in Nigeria’s correctional facilities, the ECOWAS Court held that the “prolonged detention of a substantial number of awaiting-trial inmates and the resulting overcrowded prison conditions breached the inmates’ rights to liberty, dignity, fair hearing, presumption of innocence, the right to be tried within a reasonable time, and equality before the law as guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).”
The Court therefore ordered Nigeria to “undertake immediate institutional and corrective measures aimed at addressing the deficiencies within its criminal justice and correctional systems.”
The country should also “introduce and implement a comprehensive prison de-congestion policy, including the adoption of non-custodial measures for minor and bailable offences,” and “within six months, submit a detailed compliance report to the Court, including statistical updates on the number of inmates released or tried.”
The Centre for Community Law, which is engaged in the promotion and enforcement of Community laws and human rights protection, initiated the action in the public interest, challenging the prolonged detention of accused persons awaiting trial in Nigeria, as the respondent.
The Centre, as the Applicant, further posited that many detainees were held for bailable offences and remained in detention for periods exceeding the maximum punishment prescribed by law.
It also argued that custodial facilities were severely overcrowded and that the continued detention of large numbers of awaiting-trial inmates imposed an excessive burden on public resources.
The Centre argued that the situation constituted violations of Articles 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 22, and 26 of the African Charter, and other applicable international human rights instruments.
In reaching its decision, the ECOWAS Court dismissed Nigeria’s preliminary objections, which challenged the Centre’s legal capacity to initiate the action.
The Court further noted that under Article 9(4) of the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, it has jurisdiction to determine cases of human rights violations occurring within Member States. On admissibility, the Court affirmed the doctrine of *actio popularis,* recognising the right of individuals and organisations to institute public interest actions on behalf of identifiable groups whose rights are allegedly violated.
It was observed that the Applicant, as a duly registered NGO, had established its legal personality and standing to initiate the action against Nigeria.
It also noted that the Applicant produced credible and corroborated evidence, including official records and public admissions by Nigeria’s correctional authorities.
The Court said that Nigeria failed to rebut the evidence with any credible contrary material, adding that the prolonged detention without trial and prison overcrowding violated the rights of inmates to liberty, presumption of innocence, equal treatment before the law, respect for human dignity, the right to be tried within a reasonable time… and also breached the Respondent’s international obligation to adopt legislative, administrative, and institutional measures necessary to give effect to protected rights.
The Court, however, found that the alleged violations of Articles 22 and 26 of the African Charter were not sufficiently established and dismissed those claims. It also ordered each party to bear its own legal costs.
Professor Amos Enabulele, Executive Director of the Centre, welcomed the ECOWAS Court’s judgment, saying that it “exposes a deep structural problem within Nigeria’s custodial system.”
He said the Centre “does not view the judgment as an indictment on Nigeria, but rather, a victory for the country, as it presents a timely opportunity to confront the longstanding suffering of prison inmates whose dignity and humanity have been diminished by decades of neglect and mismanagement of the correctional system.”
Professor Enabulele also drew the attention of current policymakers to what he called “an uncomfortable but important reality of past policymakers, who fail to reform the deplorable prison conditions, and now find themselves incarcerated in the very facilities they never imagined they would enter.”
According to him, “societies thrive when people who are not directly affected by injustice nevertheless stand up and fight against it as though they themselves were victims.
Ajayi Osahon is Media Manager at the Centre for Community Law.
