The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice sitting in Abuja on Thursday awarded the sum of N30million in the suit regarding the enslavement of 22-year-old (in 2021) woman, Glory Okolie by men of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force.

According to Samuel Ihensekhien, Abuja-based human rights lawyer who represented Okolie in ECOWAS Court, the Nigerian government in all the defence filed before court, did allude to the detention of the applicant, Glory Okolie for more than 90 days illegally in breach of all statutes known to law, treaty, Nigeria constitution and any legal framework.

The ECOWAS Court delivered judgement in the case on Thursday, awarding the sum of N30million to Glory Okolie in reparation, after the ECOWAS court heard all arguments of the parties in this case in earlier proceedings.

The ECOWAS court also before now, in 2022 awarded the monentary sum of N1million against the Nigerian government because of the government’s nonchalant and disdainful attitude in the court.

In the court proceedings, the Nigerian government had delayed proceedings and hearing of the case because they refused to file any court process.

However information about the case at ECOWAS court chronicled how the officers of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) allegedly arrested the said Glory on June 17, 2021, and held her as a maid for several weeks.

She was later released on March 23, 2022, after spending alarming 248 days in detention.

Following her release, a human rights lawyer, Samuel Ihensekhien and One Love Foundation, a non-governmental organisation formed for the promotion of good governance and justice, had headed to ECOWAS Court seeking N100 billion from the federal government as “general and punitive” damages for infringing on Okolie’s fundamental human rights.

The ECOWAS court at its first sitting actually awarded N1 million against the Nigerian government for delaying the proceedings.