PATRIARCHY, DUE DILIGENCE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: RETHINKING THE ECOWAS COURT’S JUDGMENT IN LOVINA AMINA ADONOR V NIGERIA

Abstract

This article examines the ECOWAS Court of Justice’s decision in Lovina Adonor v Federal Republic of Nigeria,1 where the Court declined to hold Nigeria accountable for its failure to investigate and prosecute the destruction of a female traditional religious leader’s shrine by non-state actors. Situating the case within international human rights law-particularly the doctrines of attribution and state due diligence obligations-the paper argues that the Court adopted an unduly narrow approach to state responsibility. Drawing on feminist legal theory and comparative jurisprudence from other regional human rights systems, the article contends that the judgment marks a retreat from emerging international norms recognizing indirect state complicity in private actor violence. Engaging with Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF), the paper proposes a meaningful adjudication in accordance with evolving international human rights norms so as to eliminate structural barriers women face in human rights litigation.