Abuja-Kaduna Train Attack: ECOWAS Court dismisses SERAP’s compensation suit

“The victims of the March 28 attack were identifiable individuals rather than an indeterminate public group..."

The ECOWAS Court of Justice on Thursday dismissed a suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), seeking N50 million compensation from Nigeria for each Abuja-Kaduna train attack victim.

The News Agency of Nigeria ((NAN) reports that terrorists had in March 2022, bombed an Abuja-Kaduna rail line near Rigasa, Kaduna, and attacked over 970 passengers onboard, resulting in fatalities, injuries, and abductions.

Delivering judgment, the court held that SERAP’s claims were inadmissible because they failed to meet the ‘victim status’ requirement essential for litigation under Article 10(d) of the same Protocol.

Justice Dupe Atoki, who delivered the judgement, said that although SERAP claimed to be acting in the public interest, the suit lacked ‘victim status’, which is required for public interest litigation.

“The court recognises its jurisdiction to hear the case as it involved potential human rights violations within a member state, in accordance with Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol.

“However, the court determines that the case does not meet the criteria for a public interest action, or actio popularis, which requires that the alleged violations affect a large, indeterminate segment of the public or the general public itself.

“The victims of the March 28 attack were identifiable individuals rather than an indeterminate public group, making the claim unsuitable as a public interest litigation,” the Community Court ruled.

The court further held that the reliefs sought by the claimants, including specific monetary compensation, should have been directed at the identifiable victims of the attack, rather than the public at large.

NAN reports that no fewer than 150 victims of the incident are still unaccounted for.

The three-member panel also consisted of Justice Ricardo Gonçalves (presiding) and Justice Sengu Koroma (member).

(NAN)