ECOWAS Court Orders Ghana to Pay $75,000 for Unlawful Detention of 30 Activists

The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ruled against the Government of Ghana, ordering it to pay $75,000 in damages to 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) for their prolonged and unlawful detention.

The judgment, handed down on Friday at the Osborne Foreshore Court in Lagos, declared that Ghana violated the activists’ fundamental human rights by holding them for extended periods—some for over a year—without trial or due process.

Presiding Judge Ricardo Gonçalves, alongside Justices Sengu M. Koroma and Dupe Atoki, emphasized that the detentions breached both Ghanaian constitutional protections and international law, including Article 14(3) of Ghana’s Constitution and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantee timely court appearances and liberty.

Each detained individual will receive $2,500 in compensation for the violations suffered. The court rejected Ghana’s national security defense, ruling that no justification exists for detaining individuals without trial for such lengthy periods.

The activists were arrested on May 8, 2019, under Ghana’s 1976 Prohibited Organisations Decree, which bans groups deemed threats to national security. While the court dismissed the Homeland Study Group Foundation as a legal entity due to lack of registration, it upheld the claims of the detained individuals, affirming their rights had been infringed.

In addition to compensation, the court ordered Ghana to either begin prosecution within two weeks or release the detainees immediately. All other claims were dismissed, with both parties instructed to bear their legal costs.

This landmark ruling follows a recent ECOWAS Court order demanding Nigeria release businessman Moses Abiodun, who has been held without trial since 2008, underscoring the court’s growing role in upholding human rights and due process across West Africa.