The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has dismissed a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), ruling that the organisation failed to establish that Nigeria’s public borrowing practices had violated the socio-economic rights of its citizens.

In its judgment in Case No. ECW/CCJ/APP/05/22, the regional court held that although it has jurisdiction to hear matters involving alleged human rights violations arising from government policies, such claims must be supported by sufficient legal and factual evidence.

SERAP had asked the court to declare that Nigeria’s continued borrowing and rising public debt had undermined the government’s ability to provide essential services such as healthcare, education and access to clean water. The organisation argued that the country’s growing debt burden had disproportionately affected vulnerable Nigerians, amounting to breaches of rights guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international human rights instruments.

The Nigerian government, however, rejected the allegations and urged the court to dismiss the application.

In its ruling, the court affirmed that it had jurisdiction under Article 9(4) of its Protocol to entertain complaints involving the human rights implications of state policies. It also held that SERAP had the legal standing to institute the action in the public interest on behalf of Nigerian citizens and declared the application admissible.

Despite this, the court found that the applicant failed to prove its case on the merits. It observed that while SERAP presented figures relating to Nigeria’s domestic and external debt and highlighted the country’s economic challenges, it did not identify the specific socio-economic rights allegedly violated or demonstrate the legal obligations the government had breached.

The panel further held that the organisation did not establish a direct link between the government’s borrowing policies and the alleged violations, nor did it provide evidence showing that any identifiable individuals or communities had suffered rights abuses as a direct consequence of the debt profile.

According to the court, the claims amounted largely to broad economic and policy concerns, which did not meet the evidentiary threshold required to sustain a human rights action before the regional tribunal.

Consequently, the court ruled that SERAP failed to substantiate its allegations both in law and in fact and dismissed the suit in its entirety.

The judgment was delivered by a three-member panel comprising Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma, who presided over the case, Justice Gberi-Bè Ouattara and Justice Edward Amoako Asante, who served as the Judge Rapporteur.