Justice Joseph Wowo’s story highlights a long-standing legal and diplomatic conflict, rooted in alleged anti-Nigerian sentiment and a corrupt political system under former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
Wowo, a Nigerian judge who served as the Chief Justice of The Gambia for a brief period in 2013, maintains that his removal from office was unjust and politically motivated.
According to him, the Gambian government fabricated corruption charges as a pretext to replace him with a Gambian, and his efforts to clear his name have been obstructed for over a decade.
In 2019, the ECOWAS Court ruled in Wowo’s favour, awarding him $200,000 and stating that his removal was unlawful. Despite the ruling, Wowo claims that The Gambia has refused to pay him his entitlements, including back salaries and allowances.
He points out that other Gambians who received similar rulings from the ECOWAS Court have been compensated, yet he continues to be ignored, which he attributes to anti-Nigerian bias.
Wowo’s appeals for justice have gone largely unanswered, despite efforts from Nigerian officials and diplomatic channels.
He now seeks intervention from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, in his capacity as the Chairman of ECOWAS, to push The Gambian government to honour the court’s ruling and ensure his compensation.
His case not only highlights the personal plight of a wrongfully dismissed judge but also underscores broader issues of judicial independence, national discrimination, and the enforcement of regional court decisions within ECOWAS.
