Five judges took the oath of office at the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States in Abuja on 6 October 2026, beginning a four-year term that cannot be renewed.
The ceremony was presided over by H.E. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and President of Senegal.
In a report from the Economic Community of West African States, the five judges were named as Hon. Justice Désiré Henri Aihou of Benin, Hon. Justice Awa Bah of The Gambia, Hon. Justice Charlyne M. Brumskine of Liberia, Hon. Justice Henrietta Uzoamaka Didigu of Nigeria and Hon. Justice Yaouza Ouro-Sama of Togo.
Each committed to discharging their responsibilities with independence, impartiality and integrity.
Addressing the new judges, President Faye urged them to remain guided by their oath of office throughout their tenure and stressed the responsibility entrusted to them in upholding the credibility of the Community justice system.
He said the reputation of the Court depends on the quality of its decisions and the trust it inspires.
President Faye also called on the judges to consolidate the Court’s achievements and contribute to its continued modernisation in line with the evolving realities of the Community.
He stressed the need for Community justice to be increasingly effective, accessible and people-centred, particularly in the face of the political, economic, security and environmental challenges confronting the region.
Hon. Justice Mouhamadou Mansour Mbaye, Chairman of the ECOWAS Judicial Council and First President of the Supreme Court of Senegal, congratulated the new judges and emphasised the weight of the responsibility entrusted to them and the fundamental importance of judicial independence, impartiality and integrity in the administration of justice.
He recalled that the independence of the judge is not a privilege but a fundamental guarantee owed to the litigant, and said the independence of the new judges must remain constant, their impartiality beyond question and their integrity beyond reproach.
In his welcome address, H.E. General Birame Diop, President of the ECOWAS Commission, paid tribute to the outgoing judges for their contribution to the development of Community jurisprudence, access to justice and the protection of human rights.
He described the oath of office as a solemn commitment to serve the Community and its citizens with integrity, impartiality and conscientiousness, and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to supporting the Community Court in the discharge of its mandate.
He called for strengthened cooperation among ECOWAS institutions, Member States and national courts, and urged the new judges to uphold the highest standards of judicial conduct and to place the interests of the Community and its citizens at the heart of their responsibilities.
Among those present were H.E. Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament; H.E. Cheikh Niang, Minister of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad of Senegal; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; the President and Judges of the Community Court of Justice; members of the Judicial Council; and representatives of Member States.
The Community Court of Justice is the judicial organ of ECOWAS, and its judges sit for a single non-renewable term — a design intended to insulate them from reappointment pressure.
The swearing-in took place against a period in which West Africa continues to face complex political, economic and security challenges.
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