Executive lawlessness : SERAP drags Gov. Wike, FG to ECOWAS Court

For alleged brutal crackdown, repression, and human rights abuses, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken Rivers Gov. Nyesom Wike and President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to

 the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja.


SERAP, in the suit, alleged that Wike is using COVID-19 as a pretext to step up repression and systematic abuses against the people of Rivers state, including by carrying out mass arbitrary detention, mistreatment, forced evictions, and imposing pervasive controls on daily life.

In addition, it said Wike is using executive orders 1 and 6, 2020 as instruments to violate and abuse the rights to liberty and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention to a fair trial, and to property, contrary to Nigeria’s international human rights obligations, including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

PerSecondnews recalls that Wike of PDP had demolished two hotels in the state for allegedly violating COVID-19 lockdown order.

The action was roundly condemned by human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), ex-Minister Femi Fani-Kayode and civil society organizations as well as well-meaning Nigerians.


SERAP said: “This suit is primarily against Governor Wike and the Rivers state government for failing to respect, protect and ensure the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights of the people of his state. The governor has used Executive Orders 1 and 6 to run roughshod over the human rights of Nigerians.“Ultimately, the Federal Government, being the signatory to ECOWAS treaties and protocols, cannot escape its responsibility to ensure that the human rights guaranteed under human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party, are fully and effectively realized throughout Nigeria, including in Rivers state.”

Pointing out that the Federal Government erred in law, SERAP cited Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties “which provides that a state may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.”

The rights organization is, therefore, seeking an order of injunction to “restrain and stop Wike from further using, applying and enforcing Executive Orders 1 and 6 or any other executive orders to harass, arbitrarily arrest, detain and demolish property of the people of Rivers state.