Post-Electoral Violence in the Southern Kaduna Region of Nigeria. State Responsibility for Violation of Due Diligence Obligations

The judgment that is commented here addressed the complex issue of the international responsibility of States for conduct of non-State actors. Under the scrutiny of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice was the role of the Nigerian State during and after the civil unrest that followed the presidential elections of April 16th, 2011. The case involved significant aspects relating to the duty of the State to protect its citizens against human rights violations perpetrated by non-State actors and to the State responsibility that derives from the violation of that duty, in a context where civil unrest, killings and other violent crimes are widespread and often go unpunished.