The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice sitting in Abuja has reserved for judgement, the suit regarding the enslavement of 22-year-old then in 2021 in the person of Glory Okolie by men of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of Nigeria police force.
According to Samuel Ihensekhien, the Abuja-based human rights lawyer who represented Okolie in ECOWAS Court, the Federal Government in all the defense filed before court, did alluded to the detention of the applicant, Glory Okolie for more than 90 days illegally in breach of all statutes known to law, treaty, Nigeria constitution and any legal framework.
The case was reserved for judgement, after the ECOWAS court heard all arguments of the parties in this case . The ECOWAS court also before now, in 2022 awarded the monentary sum of one million against the Federal Government because of the FG’s nonchalant and disdainful attitude in the court. In that court proceedings, the FG delayed proceedings and hearing of this case because they refused to file any court process
However, information about the case at ECOWAS court, chronicles how the officers of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) alledgly arrested the said Glory on June 17, 2021, and held her as a maid for several weeks. She was later released on March 23, 2022, after spending 248 days in detention.
Following her release, human rights lawyer, Samuel Ihensekhien and One Love Foundation, a non-governmental organisation formed for the promotion of good governance and justice, headed to ECOWAS Court seeking N100 billion naira from the Federal Government as “general and punitive” damages for infringing on Okolie’s fundamental human rights.
The ECOWAS court at its first sitting actually awarded N1 million against the Federal Government for delaying the proceedings.