By Paul Ejime
DAVID AGUELE, a Nigerian citizen, and the Centre for Community Law (CfCL), an NGO, have jointly sued the President of the ECOWAS Commission and the Council of Ministers at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (CCJ), challenging the regional organisation’s decision to retain in its employment staff members from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which have withdrawn their ECOWAS membership.
In the suit No ECW/CCJ/APP/47/25 dated 22nd September 2025, Mr David Aguele, an unemployed graduate resident in Benin City, Edo state, and the CfCL are the first and second Applicants/Plaintiffs, while the ECOWAS Council of Ministers and the Commission President are the first and second Respondents, respectively.
The Applicants are praying the CCJ to determine the “legality of Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak issued by the President of Commission, on July 4th 2025,” and/or whether the circular and the decision of the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers held 22-23 April 2025 in Accra, Ghana “are in accordance with Articles 18(5), 10(3)(f) and 92 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty 1993, and Articles 50(h), 51(1)(b)(viii) and 53(d) of the ECOWAS Staff Regulations (Revised in 2021).
Military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger formed the Alliance of Sahel States, AES, following their countries’ suspension from ECOWAS over the military takeover of governments in the three countries.
On 16th September 2023, the three junta leaders announced that their countries had quit ECOWAS with immediate effect. However, in compliance with the relevant regional instruments, the 66th Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in December 2024 gave the three countries the stipulated 12 months to either formalise their withdrawal by 29th January 2025 or return to the fold.
The Authority further directed the ECOWAS Council of Ministers to convene an Extraordinary Session to determine the separation modalities of the AES countries from ECOWAS.
After the Council session, the President of the Commission issued Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak, suggesting that staff members from AES countries in Grades P5 and above should leave ECOWAS.
In their suit, Mr Aguele and the Centre for Community Law argue that “by reason of this Circular, the 1st Respondent unilaterally decided to retain all AES permanent staff below grades P5 without recourse to the clear provisions of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty and the Staff Regulations or even the clear directives of the Council of Ministers and thus, acted arbitrarily without legal authorisation.”
The declarations/orders sought by the Applicants are:
An order directing the 1st Respondent to pay the sum of ten thousand U.S. dollars (US$10,000) to the 1st Applicant for the pain he suffered and has endured by reason of the decisions
A declaration that from the 29th of January 2025, the citizens of the exited States lost their ECOWAS nationality and the protection afforded under ECOWAS, including the right to work and establish by reason of ECOWAS citizenship passport
A declaration that Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak is unlawful, illegal and therefore null and void.
A declaration that Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak is a violation of the right of taxpayers, unemployed young persons and a violation of the rule of law, which the 2nd Applicant has a vested interest in upholding within the Community.
A declaration that the context decisions of the Respondents, particularly Circular ECW/Memo/DC/2025-14/ak violate the right of the 1st Applicant in so far as the decisions made it impossible for various vacancies within ECOWAS for which he was legitimately hoping to be employed has been violated, and,
Such further orders that the Community Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this suit.
Prof Amos Enabulele Esq. and Michael Agbo Esq. filed the suit on behalf of Mr Aguele and the Benin City-based Centre for Community Law, which “promotes and protects the rights of ECOWAS citizens and the rule of law within the Community.”
The Community Court has not fixed any date to hear the suit, but it gave the Respondents “within 30 days” to enter their defence, otherwise the “…Applicants may proceed therein and judgment may be given in your absence.”
After taking an initial hard line, including the threat of using military force to restore constitutional order in Niger, ECOWAS has lifted the sanctions imposed on the three AES countries, but tried unsuccessfully through dialogue and diplomacy to win them back to the regional bloc.
The ECOWAS annual budget is funded from the Community Levy paid by its member states.
When Mauritania exited ECOWAS in 2000, all its citizens in ECOWAS employment also departed in line with the relevant regional instruments.
According to legal and diplomatic sources, unless the AES issue is resolved administratively, the Aguele/CfCL suit could open the floodgates for other legal challenges to the controversial decision to retain AES staff members in ECOWAS, to be paid from the financial contributions of non-AES Member States.
Meanwhile, the fate of some ECOWAS agencies and institutions in AES countries is also awaiting final determination.
