For these three reasons, the Federal Republic of Nigeria urged the Honourable
Court to dismiss the Plaintiff's Application, as filed before the Court.
IV.
CONSIDERATION
AND
ASSESSMENT OF
THE
WEIGHT
OF
THE
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE PARTIES
From the exchange of written pleadings and arguments between the Parties,
three strands of argumentation sort themselves out in the dispute brought
before the Court, for consideration by the Court. These three points are:
A. The divergent stands adopted by the Parties as to the scope and effect of
the previous pleadings instituted before the domestic courts ·of Nigeria;
B. Legal capacity of the Plaintiff for bringing an action as heirs or presumed
successors, given that the direct victims of the alleged violation are
“deceased"· I
C. The weight of the pieces of evidence adduced by the Plaintiff, in the light
of the fact that the very allegations of {(disappearance" and “murder" are
challenged by the Defendant.
A- Effect of previous proceedings instituted before domestic courts
In its written pleadings dated 18 December 2012 and lodged before the Court
on 19 December 2012, the Defendant, namely the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
raised a preliminary objection wherein it argued that the action brought before
the ECOWAS Court of Justice should be inadmissible since the Plaintiff had
already filed the same suit before the Nigerian courts (Federal High Court), and
that in the event that it is determined that the suit before the Federal High Court
was decided against them, the Plaintiff cannot come tore-litigate the same issue
before the Community Court. On their part, the Plaintiff maintained that the
issues, subject-matter, claims and parties in the suits before the High Court of
Benin (subsequently struck out), before the Edo State High Court (re-filed and
still pending), and before the ECOWAS Court of Justice, are substantially
different, and that based on the same set of facts, the Plaintiff can maintain
separate and different suits against different Defendants for different reliefs and
5