ECOWAS Court Rules Against Ghana Over Unlawful Detention of Homeland Study Group Members

/ Ghana ordered to pay $75,000 in compensation for detaining pro-Western Togoland activists without trial, violating human rights.

👉 ECOWAS Court finds Ghana guilty of detaining 30 HSGF members unlawfully.

👉 Activists held for over a year without trial.

👉 Ghana ordered to pay $2,500 to each victim, totaling $75,000.

👉 Court declares national security does not override due process.

👉 Ruling delivered on May 16, 2025, in Abuja.

ECOWAS Court finds Ghana guilty of unlawfully detaining Homeland Study Group members,
orders compensation.

In a major blow to Ghana’s legal and human rights record, the ECOWAS Court of Justice has ruled that the Government of Ghana violated the fundamental rights of 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) by detaining them without trial.

The ruling, delivered in Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday, May 16, 2025, found the prolonged detention of the activists—who were arrested in May 2019—unlawful and in breach of both Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and international human rights obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The 30 activists were arrested under Ghana’s 1976 Prohibited Organisations Decree, a controversial law dating back to the military era. They were accused of engaging in nonviolent protests and advocating self-determination for the Western Togoland territory.

However, the ECOWAS Court ruled in Case ECW/CCJ/APP/12/24 that their prolonged detention—some exceeding one year without court appearance—was a direct violation of their right to liberty.

Presiding Judge Ricardo Gonçalves stated, “The applicants were arrested and held for extended periods without being brought before a court. This is clearly a violation of their right to liberty.”

The Court awarded $2,500 in cedi equivalent to each of the 30 detainees, totaling $75,000 in damages for the breach of their rights. The Government of Ghana has been given two weeks to either initiate proper legal proceedings or release the detainees unconditionally.

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In addition to the financial penalty, the Court rejected the government’s defense that national security justified the detentions, reiterating that even under such concerns, due legal process must be followed.

“Even where national security is cited, detention must comply with the law. Detaining individuals for over a year without trial is unjustifiable,” the ruling emphasized.

Although the Homeland Study Group Foundation itself was listed as a party, the Court dismissed its standing for failure to present legal registration documents. Furthermore, the Court denied the group’s request for recognition of Western Togoland’s right to self-determination, stating the members lacked the legal capacity to make such claims on behalf of a larger population.

Court’s Final Directive:

👉 Pay $2,500 to each applicant.

👉 Either prosecute or release detainees within 14 days.

👉 Both parties to bear their own legal costs.

👉 Final signed judgment to be issued soon.

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