The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has awarded N21 million in damages against the Republic of Ghana in a landmark judgment involving the citizenship and passport rights of a Ghanaian woman married to a Nigerian.
In its ruling delivered on June 23, 2026, the regional court found that Ghana violated the fundamental rights of Mrs. Mary Omerere by allegedly revoking her passport and restricting her ability to enter her country of birth.
The case, filed as Mary Omerere v. Republic of Ghana (Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/25/25), was instituted before the ECOWAS Court in May 2025 following a prolonged dispute over the applicant’s nationality status and travel documentation.
Mrs. Omerere, who claimed Ghanaian citizenship by birth, approached the court after facing difficulties in renewing her Ghanaian passport through the Ghana High Commission in Lagos and related diplomatic channels abroad.
According to court filings, the applicant alleged that Ghanaian authorities subjected her citizenship documents to scrutiny after her marriage to a Nigerian citizen, Mr. Henry Obukohwo Omorere, and subsequently refused to renew her passport.
She maintained that the administrative actions effectively deprived her of valid travel documents and prevented her from exercising her right to freely enter and leave Ghana.
The applicant further told the court that the passport dispute denied her the opportunity to attend important family events, including the funeral of her grandmother in Ghana, while also creating challenges relating to her residency status in the United Kingdom.
Her legal team, led by Samuel Ihensekhien and supported by Dr. S. M. Oyeghe and Mike Ezeobi, argued that repeated efforts to engage Ghanaian authorities for clarification and verification yielded no meaningful response.
The lawyers contended that the actions of Ghana breached international and regional human rights protections, including the right to nationality and the right to freedom of movement guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Delivering judgment, the ECOWAS Court held that Ghana violated Mrs. Omerere’s right to freedom of movement by preventing her from freely leaving and returning to her country.
The court further ruled that the actions complained of amounted to an arbitrary deprivation of nationality rights, contrary to obligations imposed by regional and international human rights instruments.
In a significant aspect of the judgment, the court stated that member states cannot arbitrarily expel citizens or undermine citizenship rights outside procedures recognised by law and competent judicial authority.
The regional court consequently directed Ghana to communicate its position on Mrs. Omerere’s passport and citizenship documentation within six months of the judgment.
The court also awarded damages of N21 million, equivalent to approximately $15,000, in favour of the applicant for the violations established during the proceedings.
In addition, the ECOWAS Court ordered that litigation costs, to be assessed by the court registry, should be borne by the Republic of Ghana, reinforcing the court’s commitment to safeguarding citizenship rights, freedom of movement and protection against statelessness within the West African subregion.