The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ruled that the case brought by Khalifa Abiola and two others against the Nigerian government over the killing of Kudirat Abiola is inadmissible. The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Edward Amoako Asante, held that the applicants failed to prove a direct legal relationship with the deceased or establish their right to act on behalf of her estate.
While the Nigerian government objected to the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the matter had already been addressed by national courts, the ECOWAS Court maintained that it had the authority to review human rights violations under its protocol. However, it ruled that the applicants lacked the legal standing to pursue the case.
Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late Chief MKO Abiola, was assassinated in June 1996 after leading campaigns for her husband’s release from detention. The applicants claimed that Nigeria failed to hold her killers accountable, but with their case now dismissed, the long-standing quest for justice remains unresolved.