The ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja has issued a ruling on Friday mandating the Federal Government to pay Nigerian journalist Agba Jalingo N30 million.

Agba Jalingo is a Nigerian Journalist, activist, public speaker and writer. He is an editor for Cross River Watch and the host of Dialogue with Jalingo, a radio program at Hit FM Calabar.

He was arrested and chained to a deep freezer for about 34 days without being charged to court.

The compensation was a result of the ill-treatment and torture of Jalingo while in detention in Cross River State.

According to the ECOWAS Court, there was no justification for the arrest and detention of Jalingo based on the suit and facts provided by SERAP.

The court said the action of security agencies was against human rights agreements, particularly the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a signatory.

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The Nigerian government was lambasted for flouting the provisions of treaties on international fair trial standards.

“On the claims of compensation for ill-treatment and torture, SERAP has been able to establish the claims.

“We condemn the Nigerian government for these acts, and hereby award compensation of N30 million to Mr. Jalingo for violations of his human rights”, the judgment read.

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the security agencies for keeping people in their custody for long without charging them to court. I believe the Nigerian Government are guilty of this.