Wakilii

Constitutional Rights Project v Nigeria (Communication 148 of 1996)

African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights · [1999] ACHPR 8 · 1999 Petition Granted — Violation Found AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Human rights communication before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights concerning continued detention of soldiers after acquittal
Decision
Commission found violation of Article 6 and urged Nigeria to free the detained soldiers

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The African Commission found that Nigeria violated Article 6 of the African Charter by continuing to detain 11 soldiers after they were acquitted in two separate trials and granted state pardons. The soldiers were arrested in April 1990 on suspicion of involvement in a coup plot, tried twice in 1990 and 1991, found innocent both times, and granted state pardon on 31 October 1991, yet remained detained at Kirikiri Prison. The Commission held that ouster clauses in Nigerian military decrees rendered local remedies ineffective, making the communication admissible, and that the continued detention constituted arbitrary detention in violation of the right to liberty.

Outcome

Commission found violation of Article 6 and urged Nigeria to free the detained soldiers

Facts

Eleven soldiers of the Nigerian army were arrested in April 1990 on suspicion of participating in a coup plot. They were tried twice, once in 1990 and once in 1991, and were found innocent on both occasions. On 31 October 1991, they were granted state pardon by the Armed Forces Ruling Council. Despite their acquittals and the state pardon, the soldiers continued to be detained at Kirikiri Prison under terrible conditions. The complainant argued that no domestic remedies were available because the jurisdiction of Nigerian courts had been ousted by military decree. The Nigerian government did not dispute any of the facts presented by Constitutional Rights Project.

Issues

  1. Whether the continued detention of 11 soldiers after their acquittal in two trials and grant of state pardon violates Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
  2. Whether local remedies were exhausted or rendered ineffective by ouster clauses in Nigerian military decrees.

Orders

  • The Commission finds that Article 6 of the African Charter has been violated.
  • The Commission urges the Government of Nigeria to respect the judgements of its courts and free the 11 soldiers.

Rules and key headnotes

Human Rights — Right to Liberty — Arbitrary Detention After Acquittal
Continued detention of persons after they have been acquitted in criminal trials and granted state pardons constitutes arbitrary detention and violates the right to liberty and security of person under Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
Human Rights — Exhaustion of Local Remedies — Ouster Clauses
Where military decrees contain ouster clauses that prevent ordinary courts from entertaining cases or appeals, local remedies are rendered non-existent or ineffective, and the requirement to exhaust local remedies under Article 56(5) of the African Charter is satisfied.
Human Rights — Burden of Proof — Uncontested Allegations
Where allegations of human rights abuses go uncontested by the government concerned, especially after repeated notification, the Commission must decide on the facts provided by the complainant and treat those facts as given.
Constitutional Law — Separation of Powers — Disrespect for Judicial Decisions
A government's continued detention of persons after its own courts have acquitted them demonstrates disrespect for judicial decisions and violates the principle of separation of powers and the rule of law.

Legislation cited (2)

  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 6
  • African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Article 56

Cases cited (9)

  • Communication 60/91
  • Communication 87/93
  • Communication 101/93
  • Communication 129/94
  • Embga Mekong Louis v Cameroon (Communication 59/91)
  • Constitutional Rights Project v Nigeria (Communication 60/91)
  • Krishna Achuthan (on behalf of Aleke Banda) (Communication 64/91)
  • Constitutional Rights Project v Nigeria (Communication 87/93)
  • Civil Liberties Organisation v Nigeria (Communication 101/93)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Constitutional Rights Project v Nigeria (Communication 148 of 1996) [1999] ACHPR 8 (15 November 1999)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.