The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has delivered a landmark judgment against the Republic of Ghana, ordering it to pay ₦21 million in damages to a Ghanaian woman who was allegedly denied renewal of her passport and prevented from entering her country of birth in what the court described as a violation of her fundamental rights.
The ruling was delivered on June 23, 2026, in the case of Mary Omerere v. Republic of Ghana (Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/25/25), where the court held that Ghanaian authorities breached the applicant’s rights to nationality and freedom of movement under ECOWAS legal instruments and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
According to the judgment, the actions of the Ghanaian authorities amounted to an unlawful interference with her citizenship status, effectively depriving her of the protections attached to her nationality without adherence to due process.
The court stressed that citizens of member states within the ECOWAS sub-region cannot be arbitrarily expelled from their countries or denied entry except in accordance with established legal procedures.
“The Court emphasized that African citizens cannot be arbitrarily expelled from their countries or denied entry except in accordance with due process and applicable laws,” the judgment summary stated, adding that the ruling reaffirmed the protection of nationality rights and freedom of movement within the region.
In addition to awarding ₦21 million in damages, the court ordered the Republic of Ghana to, within six months, communicate its position regarding the applicant’s passport and citizenship documentation status. It also directed that the costs of litigation, to be assessed by the ECOWAS Court Registry, be borne by the Ghanaian government.
Counsel to the applicant, Samuel Ihensekhien of the League of Public Interest Lawyers, described the judgment as a major affirmation of citizenship rights within West Africa, insisting that the case exposed what he termed arbitrary administrative action against the applicant.
He stated that repeated efforts to resolve the matter with Ghanaian authorities, including requests for further verification and proposed DNA testing, were ignored, leaving the applicant without resolution or access to her documentation.
Legal observers have described the ruling as another significant precedent strengthening protections against arbitrary deprivation of nationality and reinforcing freedom of movement across ECOWAS member states.
The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, established in 1991 and headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, has since 2005 allowed individuals to bring human rights cases directly before it, making it a key supranational judicial body within the West African region.
The court has in previous decisions held member states accountable for violations of freedom of movement and unlawful restrictions on citizens’ travel documents, reinforcing its growing authority in regional human rights enforcement.