In SERAP V. Fed Rep of NIGERIA & 4Ors 2014 Unreported, the Court held the
view that the Plaintiffs by alleging facts from which can be inferred, at least prima
facie, a remote possibility that the Defendant may have violated their human rights,
have established in their pleadings an arguable cause of action.
The facts of this case as presented by the applicants constitute arguable ingredients
of breaches of the various provisions of human rights law as alleged which if
established constitute a violation of their rights under international law.in this regard,
the Applicants have established arguable cause of action.
The Defendants’ objection here also fails.
3. Exhaustion of Local Remedies
The rule on the exhaustion of local remedies before taking to international remedies
is one of the basic rules of customary international law. The object of the rule is to
enable the Respondent State the first opportunity to correct or remedy the harm and
to make a reparation. With regard to protection of human rights, the application of
the local remedy rule is dependent on the conventional provisions as well as that of
the treaty establishing the international tribunal. A person whose right has been
violated is expected to first make use of domestic remedies to right the wrong before
approaching an international Court or tribunal. Access to such Courts should be the
last resort, after the domestic remedies has been exhausted.
However, to this rule there are exceptions namely, but not limited to
24