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Nigerians in US jail. On Thursday, the ECOWAS Court of Justice denied a claim filed by a Nigerian, Richard Ugbah, requesting the court to order the US government to allow him to finish his prison sentence in Nigeria.
Ugbah is serving a 12-year prison sentence in the United States after being convicted of wire fraud on February 14, 2017.
He has completed eight years of his sentence and will be released on May 8, 2026.
Ugbah asked the court in the case designated ECW/CCJ/ APP/ 18/21 to order his repatriation to Nigeria, claiming that he met the prerequisites for transfer outlined in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Handbook on the International Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
However, in a preliminary objection, the Federal Republic of Nigeria contended that the application was incompetent and against the provision of Articles 9 and 10 of Article Supplementary Protocol.
The FG pointed out that the second respondent, the Ministry of Justice, was not a community institution nor a signatory to the ECOWAS Treaty.
It asked the court, however, to dismiss the application, claiming that the court lacked authority to hear the case.
Justice Sengu Koroma, reading the lead judgment, ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
The applicant had also failed to provide a solid grounds for their complaint against the respondent, according to the court.
“The matter of competence is a legal issue and the argument presented by the applicant has no legal basis vesting the court with the authority to hear and determine the case,” the court said.