ECOWAS Community Court of Justice Grants Attorney-General Extension to File Defence in Suit by Gertrude Torkonoo

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has granted an application by Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem Sai to regularise a defence filed out of time in a human rights case brought by former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo.

The ruling allows the state’s amended defence to be admitted despite missing the earlier filing deadline. The court also granted the applicant seven days to file a reply to the amended defence.

Justice Torkonoo initially filed the case at the Human Rights Court following her suspension under Article 146 proceedings of the 1992 Constitution, arguing that the process violated her fundamental human rights. After her subsequent dismissal, she amended her application before the regional court to challenge her removal.

Earlier, the court permitted the amendment despite objections from the Attorney-General and directed the state to file its defence within 30 days.

However, the Attorney-General’s office, represented by Dr Srem Sai, did not meet the March 1, 2026 deadline and later submitted the defence together with a request for the court’s discretion to admit it.

Counsel for Justice Torkonoo argued that the filing was out of time and urged the court to strike it out, stressing that no formal application had initially been made for an extension.

In response, the Deputy Attorney-General maintained that the state had not been served with the court’s directive and only became aware of the timeline after receiving a hearing notice. He explained that the defence was filed promptly after the directive came to their attention and appealed to the court to exercise its discretion in the interest of justice.

The court, however, observed that under common law practice, counsel present in court are deemed to have notice of orders once they are delivered, and indicated that the proper procedure would ordinarily have been to file a formal application for extension of time.

Counsel for Justice Torkonoo countered that representatives of the Attorney-General were present when the directive was issued, making claims of lack of service difficult to sustain.

Despite these objections, the applicant did not oppose the state’s oral request for an extension but asked the court to allow an opportunity to respond if the application was granted.

The court subsequently granted the extension and admitted the amended defence, while giving Justice Torkonoo seven days to file a response as proceedings continue in the case challenging her suspension and dismissal