JUDGMENT IN CASE BETWEEN MR. ABAYOMI BABALOLA AND THE REPUBLIC OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE ECOWAS – Court dismisses application brought by Mr. Abayomi Babalola

The ECOWAS Court of Justice, on 6th June 2024, dismissed the application brought by Mr. Abayomi Babalola, alleging the violation of human rights of her daughter, Itunu Babalola, by the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, the defendant.

Mr. Abayomi Babalola, the alleged father of Itunu Babalola, claimed his daughter, a Nigerian businesswoman, died during detention in Côte d’Ivoire on November 14, 2021. He alleged her arrest, detention, trial, conviction, and imprisonment were unlawful, violating her right to a fair trial, as per the African Charter and Côte d’Ivoire’s 2016 Constitution. He also asserts that her death during detention violated her fundamental rights to dignity, health, and life.

Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, the Judge Rapporteur who delivered the judgment, declared that the Court has the competence to examine the application. However, it dismissed the application as inadmissible due to a lack of standing.

In the case, the applicant told the Court that Itunu Babalola, a Nigerian businesswoman from Ibadan, was living in Bondoukou, Côte d’Ivoire, when her apartment was robbed in September 2019. He said that the police discovered the suspect was a relative of the local police chief, who offered her insufficient compensation. When she refused it, she was later arrested and wrongfully charged with human trafficking without evidence, receiving a 10-year prison sentence. In prison, she faced assaults, inhumane treatment, and medical neglect, leading to her death on November 14, 2021. The Ivorian authorities conducted a secret autopsy, attributing her death to diabetes complications, and failed to inform her family or the Nigerian Embassy, who learned of her death through the media. Authorities did not investigate or prosecute those responsible for her mistreatment and death.

The defendant argued that Mr. Abayomi Babalola did not provide evidence of his relationship with Itunu Babalola. Despite his appeal to the Court of Justice for alleged human rights violations against Itunu Babalola, he failed to establish this relationship. The defendant, consequently, asked the Court to declare Mr. Abayomi Babalola’s application inadmissible due to lack of standing and interest in bringing proceedings.

In its judgment, the Court found that the Applicant has not proved that he has an interest that qualifies him as a direct or indirect victim for access to the Court and considered the application inadmissible.

The panel included Hon. Justice Edward Amoako Asante, presiding, and Hon. Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma, Member.