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ECOWAS Awards N20m Damages Against FG Over Bizman’s Death In EFCC Custody

Published

4 years ago

May 25, 2022

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States has found the Federal Government liable for the death of a businessman, Desmond Nunugwo, in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in April 2016.

The court, therefore, directed the FG to pay N20m compensation to the deceased’s family.

The 29-page judgment made available to PUNCH Metro on Tuesday was handed down by Justice Edward Asante, who presided over the case and was assisted by Justices Dupe Atoki and Januaria Costa, on March 21, 2022.

By a 2005 ECOWAS Supplemental Protocol, the CCJ has jurisdiction to hear human rights cases and disputes between individuals and their own member states.

Nunugwo was taken into custody by EFCC operatives in Abuja on April 16, 2016, on allegations of defrauding a complainant of N91m.

Barely 24 hours later, he was said to have taken ill and rushed to a hospital, where he died.

The deceased’s family had accused the anti-graft agency then headed by Ibrahim Magu, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, of killing Nunugwo, who was reportedly healthy before his arrest.

But the commission failed to respond to the allegations, prompting the deceased’s siblings, Rose Breivigel and Elizabeth Baumerich, to file an action against the EFCC in March 2019.

Based on the reports of extra-judicial killings in the country, the applicants claimed their brother, who was survived by a wife and four children, was tortured to death.

The case was filed by their lawyers, Oludayo Fagbemi and Holger Hermbach, while Maimuna Shiru represented the FG.

Before filing the suit, the ECOWAS court noted that the applicants reported the death of their brother to the authorities, which failed to investigate the incident.

Moreover, they also lodged a complaint with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in February 2017.

Justice Asante noted that in April 2018, an autopsy was carried out without the knowledge of Nunugwo’s family, adding that the result cited hypertension as the cause of death, but provided no additional explanation.

He declared that Nunugwo’s right to life under Article 4 of the African Charter was violated and that the respondent (FG) also breached its duty to investigate this under the same charter.

Asante said, “The court sitting in public after hearing both parties dismissed the allegation of violation of Mr Nunugwo’s right to freedom from torture under Article 5 of the African Charter; dismisses the allegation of the applicant’s right to presumption of innocence under Article 7 of the Charter was violated by the respondent and orders the respondent to pay the lump sum of N20m to the family of Mr Nunugwo as compensation for all the prejudice and damages suffered as a result of his death in violation of Article 4 of the African Charter.”

The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, had yet to react to the judgment as of the time of filing this report as he did not respond to a request for comment.

But speaking on the development, a rights activist, Olaseni Shalom, said the authorities must follow due process in all their actions, noting that the constitution did not permit torture of suspects.

“The judgment is a victory for justice. I am not encouraging fraud; but whatever we are doing as a country, we must follow due process. We have seen cases where due process was ignored while seeking justice, but that is not justice at all. It is a wake-up call for our law enforcement agencies to always respect human rights,” said Shalom, who is the Executive Director, United Global Resolve for Peace.

PUNCH

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

Headline

Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

Headline

Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.