In recent months, we have seen significant deployment of security forces, utilising excessive force and fiirearms against peaceful, mainly young protesters in Kenya, Uganda and Bangladesh.  

This week, the government of Nigeria and its security agencies issued statements and unequivocal warnings to citizens not to take to the streets ahead of  planned nationwide protests. 

The police later fired live bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters in northern city of Kano protesting against the rising cost of living.

Heavy-handed and violent state responses against protesters, including blatant weaponisation of the criminal justice system, have become the norm, despite the existence of national, regional and international laws that not only articulate but also guarantee the right to peaceful protest.  

These developments come just weeks after a landmark judgment by the Ecowas Community Court of Justice, which found Nigeria liable for human rights violations by its security agencies for using live ammunition during a peaceful protest at the Lekki Toll Gate in October 2020. 

The protest was organised by the youth-led #EndSARS movement to demand the disbandment of the draconian Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police crime-fighting unit routinely implicated in intimidation, extortion, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances and torture. At its core, the #EndSARS movement was a response to the government’s failure to deliver good governance.  

The Ecowas Court found that Nigeria’s actions, which resulted in the death of at least 12 peaceful protesters, and serious injury to many others, contravened its obligations under national, regional, and international human rights law.

These included violations of the rights to dignity, security of persons, and freedom of expression, assembly, and association. Further, the government failed to investigate these violations and provide effective remedy.

The Court also ordered monetary compensation for the applicants. 

A coalition of organisations, led by Citizens Gavel, and individuals opted to approach the Ecowas Court, given widespread public distrust in -- and perceptions of bias by -- local courts, and the ineffectiveness of domestic processes in securing justice for the victims. 

For example, the government-backed Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up in 2021 by the Lagos State government recommended wide ranging remedies, including compensation, police reforms, sanctioning of implicated security personnel, and the creation of a standing tribunal to deal with cases of rights violations by security forces.

However, despite sustained citizen and civil society calls for accountability, no action has been taken almost four years after the killings. Moreover, while SARS was ultimately disbanded, its replacement, the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, is by all accounts equally problematic.  

This judgment underscores the potential of legal frameworks to hold governments accountable. In the face of widespread impunity, citizens must be ready to strategically deploy various tools including the law to challenge rights violations by the state and their security agencies. 

What we have learnt from this Ecowas litigation process is that securing a favourable judgment in such sensitive cases requires a complex, long-term and sustainable legal and advocacy strategy.

Moreover, any legal action needs to complement and respond to quickly evolving demands and priorities of movements on the ground. This requires collaboration with a diverse set of experts, journalists, analysts, lawyers, funders, medical personnel, tech experts, academics and many more.  

Despite the challenging circumstances, particular care must be taken in the collection, preservation and presentation of irrefutable evidence to challenge government-driven narratives that tend to minimise any events around peaceful citizen actions and paint peaceful protesters as thugs, looters, and opportunistic criminals.

All legal action must, therefore, involve careful witness preparation, including psychological assessment, protection and psychosocial support. 

Where available, testimonies should be corroborated through digital footage from credible witnesses and other sources such as whistle-blowers, to counter the submission by the state of manipulated videos and images.

By adopting similar collaborative, evidence-based strategies, communities can strengthen their fight for justice and human rights enforcement. 

The litigation undertaken by Nigerian actors highlights many important questions when considering what avenues and strategies that citizens can deploy to hold their governments to account. 

Which court, domestic or regional, is the most independent adjudicatory platform to address rights violations? Are there credible witnesses and applicants and is there other evidence that can underpin their testimony? How do we properly document and preserve this evidence to maintain its integrity, for example, persevering digital evidence metadata? How do we build international solidarity and advocacy strategies around the work to maintain pressure on the relevant duty bearers? 

In essence, this important ruling of the Ecowas Court highlights the urgent need to manage protests in ways that avoid excessive use of force and loss of life.

The judgment has the potential to bolster domestic accountability efforts going forward and will be instrumental in securing justice for the victims of the Lekki Toll Gate massacre and their families.

It represents a pivotal advancement in enforcing government accountability and protecting human rights in sub-Saharan African including serving as a resource for other countries and regions facing similar challenges. 

Nelson Olanipekun is founder and executive director of Citizens Gavel