Economic Community of West African States,ECOWAS Court of
Justice has ordered Nigeria to investigate the 2016 mass killings and
destruction of property in Agatu Community of Benue State.
The Federal Government was also mandated to identify and prosecute
the perpetrators as well as resettle the victims.
Delivering judgement in a suit brought by a Catholic priest, Reverend
Father Solomon Mfa, and 11 others, a three-member panel of the court
found the government in “violation of its obligation to protect the human
rights of the Agatu Community and prevent its violation.
The applicants claimed that within the last three years, Fulani herdsmen
had carried out over 50 major attacks on Benue communities, the most
prominent of them taking place in 15 out of 23 councils.
The president, Justice Edward Asante, presided over proceedings, while
the judgement read by Justice Dupe Atoki, ordered the government to
provide adequate security by deploying more security personnel to the
“area to protect the community and prevent further occurrences of that
mayhem.”
