The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the Ghanaian government to pay $75,000 in compensation to 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) for what it described as their “unlawful, arbitrary detention” in 2019.
Delivering judgment on Friday, the court, in suit ECW/CCJ/APP/12/24, awarded $2,500 to each applicant, ruling that their prolonged detention without trial violated their fundamental rights under both Ghana’s constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Justice Ricardo Gonçalves, who presided alongside Justices Sengu M. Koroma and Dupe Atoki, said the members were held for over a year without being brought before a court, contravening Ghana’s 48-hour court presentation rule.
The Homeland Study Group Foundation and its members were arrested under the Prohibited Organisations Decree of 1976 for advocating the independence of Western Togoland.
However, while the court recognised its jurisdiction over the case, it struck out the Foundation from the suit, stating that it had failed to present evidence of legal registration.
The court also dismissed the applicants’ claims to self-determination, ruling that neither the Foundation nor its members had the legal standing to make such claims.
In addition to the compensation, the court ordered Ghana to either prosecute the 30 applicants within two weeks or release them unconditionally.
All other reliefs sought by the applicants were dismissed, with both parties bearing their own legal costs.
