The ECOWAS court sitting at Abuja, in suit number ECW/CCJ/APP/38/21 Patrick Eholor V. Federal Republic of Nigeria between Patrick Eholor and the Federal Republic of Nigeria heard the above-mentioned case on 12th May 2023 and where the Federal Republic of Nigeria was absent in legal representation.
The court however, after hearing from counsel to Patrick Eholor, then adjourned to 21st September 2023 for judgement.
President of the foundation, Eholor filed the suit at the court through his counsel, Samuel Ihensekhien in 2021 to determine whether the Federal Government had the power to crack down on any peaceful protester.
Eholor explained that he filed the court action to halt the continuous intimidation, suppression, harassment, killing and sometimes shooting of peaceful protesters while exercising their fundamental right to peaceful protest.
He alleged that the protesters were routinely killed, arrested and locked up in different security agencies cells all over Nigeria by different state security agencies of the federation.
Details of the case, which was filed in 2021 and copies made available to newsmen, centred on the legality of the clampdown, including banning of protests by the federal government of Nigeria through the Nigeria police force, DSS and other security agencies.
Eholor said the kernel of the suit, which has been filed at the ECOWAS court since 2021, centred on wrongful killing of a protester whose name was given simply as Miss Jumoke during the recent Yoruba nation group protest in Lagos State, Nigeria in 2021.