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| ECOWAS Court of Justice |
ABUJA — On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formally inducted five new judges into its Community Court of Justice in a ceremony at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters in Abuja.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, current Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, administered the oath of office, underscoring the Court’s pivotal role at a time when West Africa confronts interlocking political, security, economic, and environmental crises.
The new bench comprises Mr. Désiré Henri Aihou of Benin; Hon. Justice Awa Bah of The Gambia; Mrs. Charlyne M. Brumskine of Liberia; Mrs. Henrietta Uzoamaka Didigu of Nigeria; and Dr. Yaouza Ouro-Sama of Togo. They will serve four-year, non-renewable terms under the December 2025 Supplementary Act SA.1/12/25 relating to the Community Court of Justice. The appointments were approved by the Authority at its 69th Ordinary Session in Lungi, Sierra Leone, on July 19, 2026.
These judges succeed Hon. Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves of Cape Verde, Hon. Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma of Sierra Leone, Hon. Justice Dupe Atoki of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Gberi-Bè Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, and Hon. Justice Edward Amoako Asante of Ghana, whose terms expired. The new members are expected to elect a President and Vice-President from among themselves for two-year terms. Notably, a Nigerian judge is typically ineligible for the presidency because Nigeria hosts the Court.
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The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice traces its origins to the 1975 Treaty of Lagos that created the regional bloc and the 1991 Protocol that formally established the Court. It became operational in 2001. Initially limited largely to inter-state and institutional disputes over treaty interpretation, the Court’s reach expanded dramatically with the 2005 Supplementary Protocol. That reform granted individuals direct access to challenge human rights violations by member states without first exhausting domestic remedies—a distinctive feature among regional courts.
Today the Court functions as a multi-purpose institution: it interprets Community law, serves as an administrative tribunal for ECOWAS staff, handles certain arbitration matters, and acts as a human rights court. Landmark rulings have addressed freedom of expression, arbitrary detention, women’s rights, discrimination, and economic rights. Yet persistent challenges remain. Member states have frequently failed to implement judgments, raising questions about the Court’s authority and the gap between legal pronouncements and enforcement on the ground. Scholars and practitioners have long noted the absence of a robust mechanism to monitor and compel compliance.
The December 2025 Supplementary Act refined the Court’s composition and qualifications. It provides for five independent judges of high moral character, drawn from nationals of member states, who meet the standards for appointment to a supreme court or equivalent judicial office, or who possess recognized competence in international or community law, coupled with at least 20 years of professional experience. Judges must take an oath or make a solemn declaration before the Authority Chairman before assuming duties.
Profiles of the New Bench: Experience Across Law, Policy, and Institutions
The incoming judges bring diverse professional trajectories that reflect both traditional judicial careers and deep institutional knowledge of ECOWAS itself.
Justice Awa Bah (The Gambia) marks a historic first: she is the first Gambian to sit on the Court. Appointed to the Supreme Court of The Gambia in 2020 after serving as the first woman President of the Court of Appeal, Bah previously held senior roles in the Ministry of Justice, including Solicitor General. Her elevation underscores growing Gambian participation in regional justice mechanisms.
Mrs. Charlyne M. Brumskine (Liberia) is the first Liberian woman appointed to the Court. A corporate and commercial lawyer, founder and managing attorney of CMB Law Group in Monrovia, she is admitted to the bars of Liberia, New York, and Washington, D.C. She holds a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College, Columbia University. She has taught law, advised government and private clients, and was the 2023 vice-presidential running mate of Alexander Cummings. She has publicly credited political reconciliation within Liberia’s Liberty Party with supporting her nomination.
Mrs. Henrietta Uzoamaka Didigu (Nigeria) brings extensive ECOWAS institutional experience. A long-serving legal adviser within the ECOWAS Commission, she later became the first Executive Director of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority. Her career spans legal advisory work, regional integration policy, and competition regulation, positioning her as a bridge between the Court’s jurisprudence and the practical machinery of Community institutions.
Dr. Yaouza Ouro-Sama (Togo) transitions from inside the Court itself. Born in 1970 in Sokodé, he holds a doctorate in international business law from the University of Toulouse and is admitted to the bars of Togo and Paris. He served as Chief Registrar of the ECOWAS Court from 2022, gaining intimate knowledge of its procedures, case management, and the chronic challenge of judgment enforcement. He has taught community law and advised the ECOWAS Commission on competition, energy, and other regulatory matters.
Mr. Désiré Henri Aihou (Benin) is a career magistrate and academic specializing in business law, public finance, and governance. Before his appointment he chaired the Chamber of Audit of Public Enterprises at Benin’s Superior Court of Accounts (Court of Audit). He has taught business law at the University of Abomey-Calavi and earlier directed legislation and codification at the Ministry of Justice. His expertise in financial oversight and corporate governance adds a distinctive dimension to the bench.
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Leadership Messages: Trust, Impartiality, and Modernization
President Faye framed the swearing-in against the region’s current turbulence. “The judges assumed office at a critical period when the region was facing political, economic, security and environmental challenges that required a firm commitment to the rule of law and collective action,” he said. He charged the new judges to strengthen public trust through impartial and credible justice, to decide cases according to conscience without yielding to pressure from any source, and to keep the foundation of their oath constantly in mind.
“Through its decisions, it protects rights, serves as a reminder of everyone’s obligations, and strengthens trust in our institutions,” Faye stated. He urged them to consolidate the Court’s achievements while modernizing its operations to make community justice more effective, accessible, and accepted by the public. The Court’s credibility, he emphasized, rests on the quality of its decisions and the confidence they generate among citizens.
ECOWAS Commission President General Birame Diop described the ceremony as more than ceremonial. The oath, he said, requires judges to set aside personal interests and external influences “to serve only community law” with honour, loyalty, impartiality, and conscience. It also signals that member states, at the highest level, recognize the Court’s authority and commit to respecting its independence.
Additional voices at the event, including the Chairman of the ECOWAS Judicial Council, reinforced calls for independence, integrity, courage, and the development of a coherent body of Community jurisprudence. Judges were described as potential “builders of the Community law of tomorrow.”
Broader Implications for Regional Integration and Justice
The renewal of the bench occurs against a backdrop of political transitions, security threats, economic pressures, and climate-related stresses across West Africa. The Court’s ability to deliver timely, consistent, and enforceable judgments will test both its institutional resilience and the political will of member states. Enforcement remains the critical weak link: without compliance, even well-reasoned decisions risk becoming symbolic.
The diversity of the new judges—spanning career judiciary, private practice, academic expertise, and deep ECOWAS institutional knowledge—offers an opportunity to strengthen both the Court’s technical capacity and its perceived legitimacy. Gender representation is notable, with three women among the five. Geographic spread across Francophone, Anglophone, and Lusophone-influenced legal traditions (though the latter is less directly represented this cycle) continues the tradition of balanced regional composition.
Looking ahead, the judges’ first task will be electing leadership and orienting themselves to the docket. Longer-term success will depend on their ability to uphold the oath’s demand for independence while navigating the political realities of a regional organization whose members sometimes resist the constraints of Community law. As President Faye and others made clear, the ultimate measure will not be the ceremony in Abuja but the quality of the justice delivered—and accepted—across West Africa in the years to come.
The induction of these five judges marks both continuity and renewal for an institution that has evolved from a limited inter-state tribunal into one of the most accessible regional human rights and community law courts on the continent. Whether it can translate legal authority into greater public confidence and practical enforcement remains the central challenge of the 2026–2030 term.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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