A Federal High Court in Abuja has instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to compensate a German national, Martin Gegenheimer, with N63.7 million and $10,000 for his unlawful detention by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). The ruling, delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, mandates the CBN to deduct the amount from Federal Government funds held in its custody to settle the debt, stemming from a 2021 judgment by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against Nigeria.
The CBN had argued that the Federal Government's foreign exchange accounts were in deficit, making it impossible to pay the entire judgment sum. However, Justice Ekwo dismissed this claim. The ruling was part of a garnishee proceeding filed by Gegenheimer's lawyer, Daniel Makolo, to enforce the ECOWAS Court's judgment.
Justice Ekwo affirmed that ECOWAS Court judgments do not qualify as foreign judgments and can be enforced by Nigerian courts. He cited the Foreign Judgments Reciprocal Enforcement (FJRE) Act 2004, stating that the ECOWAS Court's judgments can be registered and enforced in Nigeria without being classified as foreign judgments.
Gegenheimer, who visited Nigeria for business, was arrested by NIS officials while returning to Kenya in February 2020. He was detained despite completing all departure formalities and COVID-19 protocols. The ECOWAS Court declared his arrest and detention illegal and ordered the Nigerian Government to pay him N53,650,925 as special damages, N10 million in general damages, and $10,000 for bail expenses. The court also ordered the Nigerian Government to remove Gegenheimer from its watch list and return his seized German passport.
