ECOWAS Court Orders Ghana to Pay $75,000 for Unlawful Detention

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The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the government of Ghana to pay $75,000 in compensation to 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) over their “unlawful, arbitrary detention” in 2019.

In its ruling on Friday in case ECW/CCJ/APP/12/24, the court awarded $2,500 to each of the detained individuals, declaring that their extended detention without trial violated their fundamental rights under Ghana’s constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Justice Ricardo Gonçalves, delivering the judgment alongside Justices Sengu M. Koroma and Dupe Atoki, noted that the activists were held for more than a year without being presented before a court, breaching Ghana's 48-hour rule for court appearances.


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The group was arrested under Ghana’s Prohibited Organisations Decree of 1976 for pushing for the independence of Western Togoland. While the court acknowledged its authority over the matter, it removed the Foundation itself from the case, citing a lack of evidence proving its legal registration.

The court also dismissed the applicants’ claims to self-determination, stating that neither the Foundation nor its members had the legal capacity to pursue such a claim.

Additionally, the court ordered the Ghanaian government to either prosecute the 30 individuals within two weeks or release them unconditionally. All other reliefs sought were rejected, and both parties were directed to bear their own legal costs.


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