The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Nigerian government to pay a total sum of ₦30m as compensation for the killing of a 35-year-old man, whose name was given as Solomon Andy.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that Andy was murdered by a soldier who is attached to the Command Secondary School, Kaduna, on June 9, 2017. It was gathered that the deceased was shot while packing sand from a gutter on the fateful Friday by a soldier.
His killing was also confirmed by the then spokesperson for the 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Colonel Kingsley Umoh, who said the matter was being investigated.
‘One of the youths was hit and died at the spot. Officers have been deployed in the scene of the incident in response and the police have also been invited to take control of the situation. The matter is being investigated and details will be made available as they become available,’ he said in the 2017 statement.
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In a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Keikura Bangura of the regional court, who read the ECOWAS Court’s judgement, upheld the arguments of the counsel for the mother of the deceased, Mrs Helen Joshua.
The court further declared the killing and confiscation of Andy’s corpse by the Nigerian Army as unlawful, cruel and degrading.
The regional court also affirmed that the Federal Government failed to uphold its obligations under Articles 1, 4, 5 and 12 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights, which mandated member states to protect the sanctity and dignity of every life.
Accordingly, the court ordered the Federal Government, which was represented by Maimuna Shiru, to pay ₦25m to Mrs Helen for the wrongful killing of her son.
The court also ordered the government to pay ₦5m as cost of burial and to immediately release the body of the deceased.
In her reaction, the counsel, Gloria Ballason, thanked the court for upholding justice, adding that the judgement would go a long way in reinforcing the value of a life in the country.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK