By Henry Ojelu
A human rights organisation, Cadrell Advocacy Centre, has dragged the federal government before the ECOWAS Community Court over the alleged extra-judicial killing of at least nine unarmed women protesters by soldiers of the Nigerian Army in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
The suit, filed at the regional court in Abuja, was brought by Cadrell in the public interest and on behalf of the victims and their families.
The organisation, led by its Executive Director, Mr. Evans Ufeli, accused Nigerian security forces of using excessive and lethal force against civilians engaged in a peaceful protest, in what it described as grave violations of regional and international human rights obligations.
The case stems from events of December 8, 2025, when women residents of Lamurde staged a peaceful road protest to express anger over what they described as the failure of security agencies to effectively enforce a government-imposed curfew amid violent clashes between the Bachama and Chobo communities.
According to the application before the court, the protesters were unarmed and posed no imminent threat when soldiers of the Nigerian Army encountered them while attempting to pass through the area.
Witnesses and relatives of the victims reportedly said that after the road was temporarily blocked, one soldier fired shots into the air, after which other soldiers opened fire on the women.
As a result, at least nine women were killed instantly, while several others sustained gunshot injuries. The incident was widely reported by national newspapers, including Premium Times.
Amnesty International Nigeria also independently confirmed that the killings were carried out by soldiers of the Nigerian Army, based on eyewitness testimonies and accounts from victims’ families.
Cadrell told the court that despite the seriousness of the incident, the Nigerian Army denied responsibility and blamed a local militia, without conducting any transparent, independent or impartial investigation.
The organisation added that, several months after the killings, no soldier has been arrested, prosecuted or disciplined, and no compensation has been paid to the families of the deceased.
The rights group argued that the actions of the soldiers violated the victims’ rights to life, human dignity, peaceful assembly, equality before the law and access to an effective remedy, as guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
It further maintained that the ECOWAS Court has jurisdiction to hear the case, stressing that Nigeria is a signatory to the ECOWAS Treaty, the Court’s Protocol and the African Charter, and that exhaustion of domestic remedies is not required under the court’s human rights regime.
Among the reliefs sought, Cadrell asked the court to declare Nigeria liable for the acts of the Nigerian Army, order an independent and impartial investigation into the Lamurde killings, and compel the prosecution of those responsible.
The group is also seeking compensation for the injured victims and families of the deceased, as well as an award of N10 billion in general damages against the Federal Government.
The organisation further urged the court to mandate institutional reforms to regulate military engagement with civilian protesters, warning that failure to ensure accountability would deepen public distrust in security operations and undermine the rule of law.
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