Papers by Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan
Social Science Research Network, 2021
Social Science Research Network, 2021
Social Science Research Network, 2021
Social Science Research Network, 2020
Social Science Research Network, 2021
Social Science Research Network, 2021
SSRN Electronic Journal
The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (ECCJ) is an integral key component and an organ of the reg... more The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (ECCJ) is an integral key component and an organ of the regional economic integration body in West Africa as clearly enshrined in the 1991 Protocol , which came into force in 1996. Having provided for an ECOWAS Court, the 1991 Protocol mandated it to resolve disputes between community Member States, interpret Community Rules and issue advisory opinions to the Member States and institutions . The ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993 also provided for the establishment of the ECOWAS Court, the Judgements of which are to be binding on all Member States, Community institutions, individuals, and corporate bodies . It also provided that a related protocol would set out the modalities for the functioning of the court . The ECCJ was established by virtue of Article 6 of the Revised Treaty of ECOWAS, 1993 and the Protocol (A/P1/7/91) on the Community Count of Justice 1991, as amended by the supplementary Protocol of 2005, with a 4-fold mandate as a Community Court, an Administrative Tribunal, an Arbitration Tribunal and a Human Rights count . The amendment of the 1991 Protocol by the 2005 Supplementary Protocol, expanded Jurisdiction of the Court to adjudicate on cases of human rights violations that occur within the jurisdiction of the Member States, which has enabled the Court to utilize its powers to ensure the protection of the human rights of ECOWAS Citizens . Furthermore, the Protocol, as amended by the 2005 Supplementary Protocol, has eliminated the limiting requirement of the exhaustion of local remedies in most international tribunals / courts, thereby facilitating the timely dispensation of justice to victims of human rights violations in the West African region. It is in the above context that the ECCJ has a critical role to play in upholding the Rule of Law as a Supranational Court of ECOWAS, to enthrone participatory democracy in West Africa and to support the community within its judicial mandate to put an end to the era of unconstitutional governments firmly in its past and to ensure appropriate sanction of any unconstitutional change of government, consistent with the Community law, particularly, the 2001 ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, a Supplementary instrument to the 1999 Protocol on the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security . It is against this background that this paper seeks to achieve the following objectives: - i. Clarify the meaning of, and mechanisms for, Implementation, Compliance, monitoring and Enforcement of ECCJ and African Human Rights Court decisions/judgements in a comparative context; ii. Underscore the fact that Judgements of ECCJ are Supranational judgements, NOT foreign Judgements; iii. Assess the effectiveness criteria of ECCJ judgements; and iv. Identify challenges and propose the way forward in strengthening. ECCJ's Enforcement mechanism.
This book is intended primarily as an introductory text for law students in Nigerian Universities... more This book is intended primarily as an introductory text for law students in Nigerian Universities. It is hoped that researchers, legal practitioners, judges and the ordinary reader will also find it useful. The book is divided into the following: - 1:Recent Trends in Regulating Money Laundering & Terrorism Financing in the Banking, Insurance and Capital Market Sectors of the Financial Economy of Nigeria: - Role of the Financial Regulators 2: Overview of the Legal Foundation in Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) in Nigeria 3:Tracing, Freezing, Confiscation, Recovery and Forfeiture of Illegal Proceeds of Money Laundering in Nigeria 4:Role of Investigators and Prosecutors in Implementing the Legal Regime on Countering Financing of Terrorism in Nigeria 5:Human Rights in Counter-Terrorism Environments: With Particular Reference to Nigeria 6:Applicable Laws in Engaging Non-State Actors in Counter-Insurgency Operations: - With Particular Reference to Nigeria 7:Combating Corruption and ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018
Communication is a vital aspect of human existence. Effective communication enhances value of inf... more Communication is a vital aspect of human existence. Effective communication enhances value of information. Information today, has become a critical factor of production vis-à-vis land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. Thus communications and the technologies that support it, occupy a strategic position now more than ever! Robust telecommunications infrastructure is important for economic growth because telecommunication service improves productivity and efficiency in other sectors and contributes significantly to world economy in terms of revenue estimated at over one trillion dollars. Nigeria has recently become one of the fastest growing markets in the world for mobile communications. In the first quarter of 2017, the telecommunications sector contributed to Nigeria’s GDP the total sum of 1.5 trillion naira, that is 9.6%. This is an increase of 0.2% compared to the 1st quarter of 2016, indicating stable growth in the sector. Nigeria’s internet penetration reached a milestone of 47.44% with over 90 million subscribers, making Nigeria Africa’s highest active internet users and ranks 10th globally. Nigeria’s active mobile Broadband penetration has increased from less than 10% in 2015 to 20.95% in 2016. Since the commencement of the implementation of the 8-point Agenda, the Telecommunications sector has played a greater role in Nigeria’s economic diversification, prominent amongst which include contributions to the Education, Health, financial services and transportation sectors of the economy.2 Despite all these achievements, there are numerous challenges, such as the growing incidences and threats of cybercrimes and cyber insecurity to the entire Information and Communications Technology (ICT) environment and the role of law and the judiciary in preventing or reducing large scale damage from criminal activities by protecting information access, privacy, communications, intellectual property and freedom of speech related to the use of the internet, website, emails cell phones, software and hardware, such as data storage devices.3 One of the current and emerging legal issues in telecommunications disputes and in combating cybercrimes, is judicial attitude towards the utility, relevance and admissibility of electronically generated evidence in legal proceedings.4 It is against this background that this discussion paper seeks to highlight five broad legal issues for further consideration by both the lead presenter and distinguished participants.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015
Nigeria, the most populous nation in black Africa, rich in oil and gas reserves but Underdevelope... more Nigeria, the most populous nation in black Africa, rich in oil and gas reserves but Underdeveloped has her own share of environmental problems which justify local and international attention. In terms of Nigeria’s environmental problems, the four broad issues being accorded highest priority are the following: It is against this background that this paper seeks to realize the following objectives: 1. To examine the nature and scope of the legal regime in the oil, gas and mining sector; 2. To analyse the liability regime in oil pollution, gas flaring and the environmental regulatory framework for the mining sector development; 3. To appraise the recent trends in regional and national case law on environmental rights, access to justice and constitutional obligation to protect the environment against oil pollution and gas flaring in Nigeria; 4. To conclude with some recommendations.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015
Internal displacement in Nigeria is a recurring and large-scale phenomenon and has affected most ... more Internal displacement in Nigeria is a recurring and large-scale phenomenon and has affected most of the country’s thirty-six states. Africa’s largest populated country has seen many waves of displacement, both small and large scale, caused essentially by conflict, generalized violence, natural disasters and human rights violations.As at the end of 2014, of the global 38 million forcefully displaced by armed conflict and generalized violence, Nigeria account for at least one million. Between July and October 2012, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) estimated in a published report that a total of 7.7 million people were affected by the flood disaster across the federation. Out of the affected population, 2.1 million people were internally displaced (IDPs); 363 persons died and 18,282 people were treated for injuries they sustained during the flooding. As at January 2014, about 165, 000 people were displaced by both floods and conflict in IDP camps in Nigeria.Having recognized that in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world, IDPs are amongst the most vulnerable populations, the Federal Government of Nigeria signed and approved the ratification of the African Union (Kampala Convention) for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs in Africa. Nigeria formally ratified the convention on 17 April 2012.It is against this background that this paper seeks to achieve the following objectives: - i. To underscore the importance of adopting the revised Draft National Policy on IDPs, 2012 and domesticating the AU Kampala Convention on IDPs in Africa;ii. To highlight strategies to be considered for adopting the policy and domesticating the Convention as well as their implementation framework in Nigeria;iii. To further underscore the need for monitoring and evaluation of implementation of both the policy and the legislative instrument domesticating the Kampala Convention in Nigeria;iv. To conclude with the way forward for Nigeria.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2022
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015
Nigeria is naturally endowed with over 9,000 natural resources that are yet to be tapped by the m... more Nigeria is naturally endowed with over 9,000 natural resources that are yet to be tapped by the manufacturing sector as raw materials for finished products; 9 and with thirty four (34) mineral resources 10 such as gold, coal, tantalite, gems, sulphur that are widely distributed across the country is revealed by Table 2 and Figure 1 below. The country has over 500 known mineral deposit sites of over 34 different minerals across the 36 states and federal capital. The federal government has identified nine to concentrate in and promote. These include Iron ore, Coal, Tin Ore, Bitumen, Gold, Columbite-Tantalite, Lead/zinc, Wolframite and industrial minerals. Currently the country is the 6 th largest producer of tin. There are nearly 3.00 billion tones of indicated reserves in 17 identified coalfields and over 600 million tones of proven reserves. Coal is found in Enugu and Kogi States. Over 7.5 million tones of barite have been identified in Taraba and Bauchi States with over 700 million tones in other states. Zinc/lead estimate is put at over 10 million tones spread across eight states of the federation. 11 A combination of low investment and poor law enforcement has made the mining sector to be largely informal, much of which is outside regulatory framework. This has serious consequences for the country. Five key issues are obvious. First, unregulated mining activities exacerbate environmental degradation. This is because mining is done without regard to environmental protection and sustainability. Second, illegal mining means loss of revenue to governments. In 2009 alone, it was reported that the federal government lost about $100 million in revenue to illegal mining while the minister averred that over 2300 mining licenses were issued without the consent of the minister. This revenue could have gone into addressing local community problems. 12 Third, unregulated mining poses health hazards to communities. The recent case of lead poisoning in Zamfara State is one of the saddest examples of this impact. 13 Fourth, Federal Government misused of the Natural Resources Fund/Account. 14 The account, called the Development of Natural Resources Account, was set up through an executive order in 2002 to develop alternative mineral resources to lessen the nation's dependence on petroleum. But government records show that since its establishment, funds in the account have hardly been used to achieve this purpose. Instead, the Federal Government has been drawing the monies to pay for items that should have been budgeted for-like monetization arrears for PHCN staff and fertilizer procurement contracts. Since 2004, government withdrew a total of N701 billion for purposes other than development of natural resources. From March to October 2010, the Jonathan administration drew sums from the account for payment of monetization arrears for staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (57.59 billion), loan to Consolidated revenue Fund to 9 According to the Raw Material Research Development Council of Nigeria (RMRDC) which had produced a compendium of the natural resource endowment of each 774 local governments and the 9555 wards in the country.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014
National authorities have primary responsibility to prevent internal displacement, and provide pr... more National authorities have primary responsibility to prevent internal displacement, and provide protection and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) within their jurisdictions. In dealing with internal displacement, governments often face difficult challenges and questions: What are the most effective ways to address internal displacement? What is the relevant normative framework? What constitutes a durable solution? What role should national, regional and international institutions/ humanitarian actors play?This study seeks to shed light on how and to what extent the fundamental responsibility of governments toward IDPs is translated into effective response by three ECOWAS Member States studied by using the twelve benchmarks of the Framework for National Responsibility as an assessment tool. In chapter one, the study provides for the contextual background analysis of the complex causes and constrained national responses to the phenomenon of internal displacement in the ECOWAS region; establishes the compatibility of the twelve benchmarks with the AU Kampala Convention on IDPs and the ECOWAS Humanitarian Policy/Plan of Action; and identifies major pointers pertaining to recent trends in addressing internal displacement in West Africa.Chapter two of this study underscores the significant nexus between the concepts of state sovereignty and national responsibility to protect and clarifies the following: i. That there is no transfer or dilution of state sovereignty. However, there is a necessary re-characterization involved: from sovereignty as control to sovereignty as responsibility in both internal functions and external obligations; ii. The provisions of the AU Kampala Convention on State Sovereignty are in line with the concept of the ‘responsibility to protect’ that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2005, and which developed in large measure from efforts to design an international system to protect IDPs; iii. The rationale behind adopting for this study a model based on the Framework for National Responsibility developed in 2005 by the Brookings Institution-University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement, which spells out the twelve benchmarks of national responsibility.
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Papers by Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan
The amendment of the 1991 Protocol by the 2005 Supplementary Protocol, expanded Jurisdiction of the Court to adjudicate on cases of human rights violations that occur within the jurisdiction of the Member States, which has enabled the Court to utilize its powers to ensure the protection of the human rights of ECOWAS Citizens . Furthermore, the Protocol, as amended by the 2005 Supplementary Protocol, has eliminated the limiting requirement of the exhaustion of local remedies in most international tribunals / courts, thereby facilitating the timely dispensation of justice to victims of human rights violations in the West African region.
It is in the above context that the ECCJ has a critical role to play in upholding the Rule of Law as a Supranational Court of ECOWAS, to enthrone participatory democracy in West Africa and to support the community within its judicial mandate to put an end to the era of unconstitutional governments firmly in its past and to ensure appropriate sanction of any unconstitutional change of government, consistent with the Community law, particularly, the 2001 ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, a Supplementary instrument to the 1999 Protocol on the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security .
It is against this background that this paper seeks to achieve the following objectives: -
i. Clarify the meaning of, and mechanisms for, Implementation, Compliance, monitoring and Enforcement of ECCJ and African Human Rights Court decisions/judgements in a comparative context;
ii. Underscore the fact that Judgements of ECCJ are Supranational judgements, NOT foreign Judgements;
iii. Assess the effectiveness criteria of ECCJ judgements; and
iv. Identify challenges and propose the way forward in strengthening. ECCJ's Enforcement mechanism.
It is against this background that this paper seeks to realize the following objectives: -
i. To identify the core means of implementation by State Parties or Signatories to such treaties in the MENA region;
ii. To clarify the role of Islamic Financing Approaches in addressing the resources gap; and,
iii. To conclude with some recommendations.
This presentation aims at realizing the following objectives:-
Underscore the importance of witness management and protection in criminal proceedings;
Clarify the task processes for proper witness management and the scope of witness protection under Nigerian law;
Enable participants to identify core challenges and success stories in witness management and protection relating to human trafficking cases in Nigeria;
Conclude
The ultimate goal is to change laws, policies and practices that infringe on human rights, and to secure access to Justice for remedies or relief following violations.
This presentation aims at realizing the following objectives:-
1. TO INTERROGATE THE TREND OF HUMAN RIGHTS LITIGATION: - FROM GENERAL TO SPECIFIC AT THE NATIONAL, ECOWAS AND AU LEVELS;
2. TO IDENTIFY THE POSSIBLE CHALLENGE(S) OF COMPLIANCE WITH / ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CASE LAW;
3. AND TO DRAW LESSONS FOR NIGERIA.
It is common knowledge that, however well crafted, policies, laws and regulations are not an end in themselves: - implementation, compliance and enforcement of those laws and regulations are even more important. This is why all relevant stakeholders must continue their dialogue on Environmental Rule of Law in order to increase cooperation and the broad ownership of its measures.
OBJECTIVES: -
Are to: -
Underscore the significant Nexus between Environmental Rule of Law and Green Growth
Clarify the need for sustaining Environmental Rule of Law;
Identify the diverse stakeholders and their roles, with particular focus on the Bar or Lawyers and the legal Academia.
Conclude with the Way Forward.
It is against this background that this presentation seeks to provide answers to the following pertinent questions: -
I. what aids the guarantee of Fair hearing/Fair Trial in a criminal proceeding ?
II. what is the nature and scope of Disclosure obligations in Terrorism trials?
III. Is the Right of a defendant Accused person to all Facilities / Resources needed to aid his defence absolute?
IV. If not, what are the limitations / exceptions?
V. Does the role of a Judge remains unchanged in terrorism proceedings and in the disclosure process for a Fair Trial?
VI. What is the rationale and Scope of the 2022 FHCT Practice Direction in Terrorism trials?
VII. Conclusion and Way Forward.
At its inception, the ECOWAS Treaty adopted an intergovernmental approach to governance of the integration process, ensuring that the Sovereignty of member states was left intact. As a result, there was only a general undertaking in the Treaty that all member states shall make every effort in planning and directing their national policies to create favourable conditions for the achievement of community objectives.
It is against this background that this presentation seeks to raise the following fundamental questions for consideration by this colloquium:
(i) Are Sovereign States Above the Law or are Bound by the Law?
(ii) Why do Sovereign States Join Regional Economic Integration Bodies Like ECOWAS, If They Are Truly Independent?
(iii) Any Evidence of the Application of the Concept of Supranationalism in ECOWAS/Under ECOWAS Community Law?
(iv) What Does Redefining the Constitutional Parameters of Nationhood Entails?
It is against this background that this presentation seeks to: -
• Highlight the rationale and scope of application of the CCA, 2021;
• Examine the roles of critical actors in climate action; and
• Conclude on the way forward.
It is against this background that this paper, divided into three broad parts, seeks to achieve the following objectives: -
To underscore the importance of striking a balance between human rights protection and counter-terrorism operations, with particular reference to Nigeria; To examine the critical role of the judiciary in the protection of human rights in counter-terrorism environments; To conclude with recommendations.