The notification was filed by a child rights activist and applicant, Comrade Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho, in Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/28/25, in which the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the sole defendant.
The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), sitting in Abuja, has been formally notified of a communication submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over alleged large-scale and systematic violations of children’s rights in Delta State.
The notification was filed by a child rights activist and applicant, Comrade Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho, in Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/28/25, in which the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the sole defendant.
The filing, titled “Notice of Additional Information Relating to Communications with the International Criminal Court (ICC)", was brought pursuant to Article 21 of the ECOWAS Court Supplementary Protocol (A/SP.1/01/05) and seeks to place before the regional court material developments of international legal significance connected to the pending suit.
According to the notice, the applicant on 23 December 2025 formally submitted a written communication to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, drawing the Court’s attention to facts already before the ECOWAS Court.
The submission reportedly included documentary evidence as well as copies of the initiating processes filed not only in the present suit but also in Suit Nos. ECW/CCJ/APP/37/25 and ECW/CCJ/APP/46/25, which are said to arise from the same factual background.
The applicant alleges that the facts disclosed point to grave, persistent, and systematic violations of children’s rights in Delta State, spanning several decades and continuing to the present time.
According to the notice, the allegations include large-scale child trafficking and enforced disappearances, the abduction and unlawful removal of children by state agents or with their acquiescence, and the permanent transfer of children under the guise of adoption without lawful procedures, judicial oversight or parental consent.
The filing further alleges that thousands of children reportedly adopted since 1991 were never entered into the Delta State Adopted Children Register, leading, in the words of the applicant, to the disappearance of children “in their thousands” without accountability.
Additional claims contained in the notice include the prolonged arbitrary detention of children in conditions alleged to amount to inhuman and degrading treatment.
In narrating the facts, the applicant states that the information communicated to the ICC is identical to the facts already placed before the ECOWAS Court and is supported by documentary evidence, sworn processes, official records, and witness statements.
The notice also addresses the subject matter in relation to the jurisdiction of the ICC.
However, the applicant contends that the acts complained of prima facie disclose conduct capable of constituting international crimes, particularly crimes against humanity as defined under Article 7 of the Rome Statute.
These alleged crimes include enforced disappearance of persons, enslavement and trafficking of children, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, and persecution against an identifiable civilian group, namely children and individuals said to be exposing alleged trafficking networks.
The applicant further notes that Nigeria is a State Party to the Rome Statute, and argues that the prolonged failure of domestic authorities to investigate or prosecute the alleged crimes raises serious issues under the principle of complementarity in international criminal law.
However, the notice emphasises that the communication to the ICC does not oust or diminish the jurisdiction of the ECOWAS Court. Rather, it is intended to enable the regional court to take judicial notice of developments of international legal relevance connected to the matters already pending before it.
"This additional information underscores the international legal relevance and seriousness of the matters pending before this Honourable Court,” the applicant stated in the filing.
Attached to the notice as Annexure JKK is an acknowledgment from the ICC Office of the Prosecutor confirming receipt of the communication and accompanying materials.
The acknowledgment bears Submission ID: #205d26ad-bada-4701-9f89-
The applicant urged the ECOWAS Court to take judicial notice of the additional information and incorporate it into the record of Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/28/25, arguing that doing so is necessary in the interest of justice and the effective protection of fundamental human rights.
The notice was dated 9 January 2026 and signed by Andrew N. Elekeokwuri, Esq., counsel to the applicant.
The Federal Government of Nigeria is to be served through the Attorney-General of the Federation at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja, as proceedings before the ECOWAS Court continue.