ECOWAS Court Reserves Judgment in Suit By Victims of Apo Shooting

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

The ECOWAS Community Court has reserved judgment for May 10 in a suit filed by victims of the 20th September 2013 shooting in an uncompleted building in Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja by the officers and men of the State Security Service and the Nigerian Army.

The judgement date is contained in a hearing notice sent to the parties by ECOWAS Court inviting them to appear in Court on the 10th of May, 2016 for the judgment.

‎Eight tricycle riders were reported dead after the shooting while several others were injured.

The victims, in search for succour, had approached the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice for redress.

The Community Court heard arguments on 7th February 2015 and 30th November, 2015 and the case was adjourned for judgment.

The case has suffered several adjournments which has dampened the spirits of the victims who are anxious to get justice in the matter.

One of the surviving victims, Mall Ibrahim Mohammed who is the 5th Applicant in the case, an indigene of Zamfara State, said he suffered multiple fractures in his knees.

He told our correspondent that he hoped that the matter would be concluded soonest as they were tired of the adjournments.

The National Human Rights Commission had already found in favour of the victims and awarded damages against the perpetrators but the decision of the commission has yet to be ratified by an high court as stipulated by law.

The commission also faulted the action of the men of the Department of State Security (DSS) as it declared the killing of eight tricycle riders at the Apo Legislative Quarters in Abuja on September 20, 2013 as unlawful.
In an 83-page report presented on the matter in Abuja by the Chairman of the NHRC’s Governing Council, Dr Chidi Odinkalu, the commission also held that the sum of N135 million be paid as compensation to the relatives of the victims.
The council therefore awarded N10 million to each of the family of the eight tricycle operators during the attack and N5million to each of the 11 others that sustained injuries.
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