presented by the Initiating Application, the only remedy that avail itself to
the applicants is the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS.
6.3.0. Whether or not it is evidence from the pleadings in this matter that the
acts complaint of by the applicants constitutes a violation by the
Federal Government of its obligations as is enshrine in the ECOWAS
Protocol and other human right instruments that were ratified by the
said Government?
6.3.1. The applicants’ complaint raises the following as constituting violations of
their human rights by the Federal Government:
1. Inhuman and degrading treatment during their 23 years of detention on death
row resulting into the paralysis of Second Applicant, and the secret threat to
execute the applicants without affording them the time to exhaust their right to
appeal;
2. Denial of family visitation and detention in isolation during their 23 years in
detention;
3. Denial of unrestricted access to their lawyer;
4. Denial of fair trial before a military tribunal and the right to appeal.
6.3.2. On the issues of denial of family visits, been held in degrading and
inhuman condition leading to partial paralysis of one of the applicants and
denial of the applicants with unrestricted access to their lawyers, this Court
says that if the same is established by the preponderance of the evidence,
the same constitute a breach of the obligation of the Federal Government
under the terms and conditions of the African Charter.
6.3.3. The African Charter provided at Chapter 4 “that the human being is
inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to the respect for his life
and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this
right.” Further to the above, the Charter further provides at Chapter 5 that
“Every individual shall have the right to respect of the dignity inherent in
a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of
exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade,
torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be
prohibited”.
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