Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has held that Nigeria cannot be compelled under any law to subscribe to the authority of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).
Justice Tsoho said this while rejecting a suit by rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN), in which he among others prayed the court to direct the Federal Government (FG) to accept the competence of the African Court to hear cases presented by Nigerian citizens.
Falana had argued, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/356/2019 that Nigerians were currently unable to file cases before the court, because the country was yet to make the needed declaration, accepting the court’s competence to receive cases from Nigeria.
But, in a judgment on Tuesday evening, Justice Tsoho held that his court was without the requisite jurisdiction to grant the prayers sought by the plaintiff.
The judge held that the law, establishing the ACHPR has made provisions for how member states could make the needed declaration, which did not include that a state could be compelled.