12. That he was thus detained by virtue of an arrest warrant issued on 25
September 2014 whose validity and enforceability cannot be sustained
before the decision made by the judges of the court of first instance
on 30 January 2015, who ruled that the procedure initiated had no
legal basis unless there was a prior decision by a civil court on the issue
of parentage and blood relationship.
13.That contending that his human rights were violated, he brought the
matter before the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS for violation
of his right to security, his right to equality before the law, his right
regarding violation of the law of nulla poena sine lege, his right to fair
hearing, and his right to family life.
14.That in response, the Republic of Niger argued, through the written
pleadings of his Counsel Maître Moussa Coulibaly, that in 2014, the
Nigerian media reported on the discovery of a huge inter-State child
trafficking syndicate in the sub-region. That under aegis of a police cooperation framework among ECOWAS Member States, a dispatch was
sent from within the Niger Police Force to Nigeria to investigate, and
in their report, they made mention of the dismantling of a child
trafficking network named ‘baby factories’. That searches conducted
on the premises of those ‘baby factories’ led to the discovery of young
ladies who were held in captivity till they give birth, and their babies
were sold by one Agoundeji Happiness, at 800,000 Naira for a boy and
between 300,000 to 400,000 Naira per girl.
15.That the preliminary inquiry of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID)
of the Niger Police led to the arrest of 18 persons for questioning
including Madam Adizatou Amadou Dieye, the wife of the Applicant.
16.That Madam Adizatou Amadou Dieye challenged the charges made
against her and stated that she gave birth to a set of twins on 1
September 2012 without indicating the health centre where she gave
birth. That questioned on the birth certificates of the children
concerned, she asked the investigators to find out from Hama
Amadou, her husband, disclosing further that the children are holders
of diplomatic passports of Niger.
Translator : E. Nkansah 6