Delivering judgment, Justice Januaria Costa held the Republic of Senegal is liable for violation of Ghislaine’s right to liberty.

The court however held that the State did not infringe on her right to dignity, the second plea made in the initiation application.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the media unit of the Court, the Community Court of Justice also dismissed other reliefs sought by the Applicant, declaring them unfounded.

Ghislaine had in her initiating application in suit no. ECW/CCJ/APP/01/19 filed January 7, 2020, alleged she was arbitrarily arrested in September 2015 in furtherance of an international arrest warrant issued by a Belgian court and detained in prison by agents of the Respondent during which she was subjected to degrading treatment in the course of her extradition to Belgium.

The Applicant added that the process for her extradition exceeded the stipulated 30 days period provided for in the Senegalese law relating to extradition.

She averred that although the order for her extradition was issued on June 14, 2016, she was eventually extradited on Nov. 24, 2016 in contravention of Senegal’s law that provided that the victim if not extradited within 30 days should be released.

Her counsel, Mr Assane Ndiaye, claimed that his client also endured hunger strike and was wrongly diagnosed of cancer with the attendant fear and anxiety’

She therefore sought orders of the court declaring the Respondent liable for the violations, and the payment of 500 Million CFA francs as reparation, as well as the cost of litigation.

In response, the respondent did not counter the claims of the applicant on the applicable law concerning extradition but argued that the Applicant provided no evidence to back her claims of being detained beyond the stipulated time.

The respondent further argued that the hunger strike embarked on by the Applicant took place during the legal period of detention and that the medical report carried out by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) only suspected cancer.

The counsel added that the applicant did not prove how the disease was directly or indirectly related to her detention.

Also on the panel were Justices Gberi-Be Ouattara and Dupe Atoki.

In another suit, the court absolved the government of the Republic of Senegal of violation of the rights of another Senegalese, Mr Siny Dieng, who was tried and sentenced for money laundering and the funds seized by the government.

In the judgment also delivered by the Justice Costa, the court rejected the claim of the applicant that the trial and seizure of the estimated 100 million CFA, based on the order of a court violated his right to fair hearing and property as guaranteed by various legal texts cited in the initiating application in suit no ECW/CCJ/APP/50/19.

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The ECOWAS and ILO made the call on Wednesday during the virtual regional expert’s validation meeting on validating the report of the evaluation of the ECOWAS RAP against child labour, especially the worst forms.

Our correspondent reports that the second phase of the RAP is coming five years after the expiration of the initial RAP 2012-2015 aimed at eliminating the worst forms of child labour in West Africa.

The new Regional Action Plan is seeking for more commitments from stakeholders across the sub-region to implement the action plan to ensure that child labor at its worst form is eliminated in 2025 and the protection of children.

Mr David Dorkenoo, officer in charge, ILO country office for Nigeria and ECOWAS said that eight years after the adoption of the action plan, it became imperative to evaluate the level of implementation of the Regional Action Plan.

He said the evaluation will also help to assess the impact of the actions enumerated in the Regional Action Plan on children and the ECOWAS region.

Dorkenoo however called for renewed commitment and unity of effort from all stakeholders in the West Africa region to the implementation of the action plan and ensure the elimination of child labour, protection of children.

“Let me take this opportunity to applaud the effort of the ECOWAS Commission in its various achievements in the elimination of child labour and protection of children.

“My profound congratulations goes to all ILO Member States in the West Africa region and across the globe for the achievement of the universal ratification of convention 182 on the elimination of the worsts forms of child labour.

“The visibility of this commitment should not be underestimated; it is an indicator that the elimination of child labour, especially its worst forms, is critical and expedient to growth and development.

“Indeed, the universal ratification represents an impressive progress in the elimination of child labour, but there is still a long journey ahead.

“The 2017 Global report on the elimination of child labour indicated that about 152 million children are in child labour, of which, 73 million are in hazardous work.

“With a prevalence of about 19.6 per cent in Africa, it is frightening to note that the Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region of the world where child labour prevalence has not reduced.

“The report recorded that the progress slowed down between 2012 and 2016. Thus, the need to accelerate actions for the elimination of child labour by 2025.

“The report of the evaluation to be presented to you experts is expected to guide the development of the second phase of the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on the elimination of child labour.

“Therefore, I hope that this validation meeting would provide a platform for experts to validate the report on the assessment of the implementation of the RAP, without being biased.

“And to brainstorm on the structure of the second phase of the RAP with the goal of providing sustainable and efficient solutions in areas in need of improvement.

“To enhance the work done at the regional and national levels towards eradicating child labour,” Dorkenoo said.

Dorkenoo reiterated that ILO remains committed to collaborating with the ECOWAS Commission and other relevant partners in ensuring the sustainable achievement of the elimination of child labour by 2025.

Also speaking, Dr Siga Jagne, Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender in the ECOWAS Commission said that the issue of child labour was one out of many child protection issues confronting children in the region.

She said that all of these issues needs to be addressed holistically to achieve impactful results.

According to Jagne, the phenomenon of child labour is a global one involving around 152 million children, almost one in ten of all children worldwide.

She said that reports further show that nearly half of these children (73 million children) are in hazardous work that directly endangers their health, safety, and moral development.

She added that unfortunately, the problem is more severe in West Africa where more than 40 per cent of all children aged five to 14 or 48 million children depend on labour for survival.

“Ending child labour will require integrated thinking, coordinated actions, effective policy-making and efficient use of resources.

“On our part, distinguished delegates, our responsibility is to carefully review the Evaluation Report before us today.

“And also make input into the outline of the next Regional Action Plan Against Child Labour,” Jagne said.

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Spokesperson for the department, Ms. Morgan Ortagus, made the call in a statement made available on the African Regional Media Hub.

The commitment includes holding a democratic election within 18 months.

Ortagus said that the U.S. viewed the Republic of Mali’s establishment of a transitional government “as an initial step towards a return to constitutional order”.

“It will be important for the transitional government to fulfill its pledges to the Malian people.

“To strengthen governance , combat corruption, reform electoral processes and implement the 2015 Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.”

The U.S. called on the government to respect human fights and take concrete steps to prevent the violation of such rights by state security forces.

The department also said that when violations occur, investigations should be carried out and those responsible, held to account.

Ortagus said that as a partner of Mali for over 60 years, the U.S. would work with all who are committed to the goals for a better country.

“We firmly believe that a democratic, prosperous and secure Mali is essential to the future of the Sahel.

Our correspondent reports that among the declarations adopted by the summit is that the transition government in Mali must be led by civilians, and that the return to constitutional order should be concluded within 12 months.

Malian military was also encouraged to focus on securing the country faced with severe security threats from its northern part, instead of an incursion into governance.

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The president made the appeal during an Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit on COVID-19 which was held via teleconferencing under the chairmanship of President Mahamadou Issoufou of the Republic of Niger, on Thursday.

Buhari, who was appointed as Champion of the COVID-19 response by the ECOWAS leaders, said: “In every challenging situation such as the current one, there are also opportunities.

“Our region must therefore seek to find those opportunities provided by this gloomy global outlook for its benefit by embarking on the implementation of such critical policies, which before now, will be difficult to accept.”

While calling on his colleagues to intensify collaboration in order to save the region from “this deadly pandemic through sharing our experiences and best practices”, the Nigerian leader outlined some measures taken by his government in response to the pandemic.

According to him, these include:

1. The reduction of interest rates on all applicable Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) interventions from 9 to 5 per cent and introduction of a one-year moratorium on CBN intervention facilities;
2. The inauguration of Presidential Task Force to coordinate national efforts to combat the spread of the virus and ensure efficiency and effectiveness in line with the Nigerian Action Plan on Health Security;
3. The provision of relief materials including medical and food supplies as well as conditional cash transfers of N20,000 each for poor and vulnerable households, and
4. The establishment of more isolation centres and testing facilities to contain the spread of the virus.

Buhari also said that unprecedented economic uncertainties, including severe fiscal and foreign exchange constraints, “amid a slowdown in global economic growth that most nations are grappling with, have made it imperative for our sub-region to refocus on accelerating the implementation of our popular vision of ‘ECOWAS of the people’ by adopting dynamic regional policies aimed at providing relief to our citizens”.

He added: “Despite declining revenues, government continues to spend massively on the containment of the virus, medical care for those infected and minimising impact of the crisis on the poor and vulnerable.

“This situation puts severe pressure on our finances by increasing our expenditures amid dwindling revenues. This invariably has led to a restructuring and reduction of our budget.”

The president used the occasion to rally other leaders to embrace agriculture, technology and innovation in order to emerge stronger.

“It is imperative that while addressing short term challenges, we should also explore opportunities to promote strong and dynamic agricultural policies that will guarantee food security for our people, creating jobs and reducing poverty in the region.

“We must innovate and use technology to boost the digital economy and do things differently, but better,” he said.

The Nigerian leader affirmed Nigeria’s solidarity with other member states as they battle the virus.

He said: “At a time of global uncertainty such as this, caused by the devastating impact of the COVID-19, let me convey Nigeria’s solidarity with all the Member States as we collectively battle to defeat the pandemic.

“I am greatly saddened by loss of numerous lives and extend my heartfelt condolences to families of those who have lost loved ones throughout the region. I also wish infected victims speedy and full recovery.”

He reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to the well-being and safety of the people in the sub-region and restated support for any initiatives that would curb the spread of the pandemic arising from the Summit.

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Ali stated this on Wednesday at Maigatari/Niger border, Maigatari Local Government Area of Jigawa while fielding questions from newsmen.

“But there is no specific time for opening the borders. However, if they agree with us tomorrow on the existing laws, then we sign and update the existing protocol of transit, that’s all.

“And we are looking forward to meeting with them and there are moves to sit with them to make them understand why we are doing what we are doing and what we want to achieve by doing what we are doing,” Ali said.

When asked about the consequences of closing the borders, he said “if you check our website, you will see the seizures and interception we’ve made”.

He said that by closing the borders, Nigeria was able to completely block the importation of contraband.

“We are able to completely block the influxes of illicit goods, and most important, stopped the exportation of petroleum product which is the biggest problem we have,” Ali said.

According to him, through the measure, the importation of foreign rice has stopped and the market for local varieties has risen.

“We’ve also stopped the influx of rice and our rice is now selling.

“Even those selling garri that have been abandoned because there was cheap rice are making brisk business.

“This is because people are now buying garri as food. So, I think the economy is now picking up and we are grateful for that,” he said.

When asked about petty traders who are unable to bring goods to the neighbouring countries, Ali said “There must be collateral damage in this kind of situation. Somebody must miss one or two things.”

He said the number of petty traders affected was insignificant compared to gains recorded through the operation.

Ali said Nigeria’s neighbours had no reason allowing cars, cooking oil and other contraband items to pass through their borders into Nigeria.

“For instance, Niger has no reason to allow rice, cooking oil and other illicit goods to pass through its borders to come to Nigeria.

“So, if it is their national interest to collect revenue it is our national interest to close our borders until we sit down and discuss,” Ali said.

He warned that any officer caught conniving to pave way for the importation of contraband items into the country would have himself to blame.

“Some of these things happened in connivance with some of our men. We are trying our best to see that we produce what we consume, particularly rice.

“But the police are being bastardised in connivance with some of my officers. We’re aware of that.

“So, if we catch you, you know where to go, no compromise and you will have yourself to blame.

The customs boss who was at the border to inspect the on-going Operation Border Drill, said: “This is the first time the entire military and paramilitary come together to ensure security and wellbeing of Nigerians, as well as stop human trafficking.

Ali was with the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr Mohammed Babandede, and Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Aliyu Ndagi, Head of the operation.

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