SIMPLY put, unlawful arrest or detention occurs when the arresting /detaining authority abuses its power of arrest and detention leading to an infraction of any of the citizens’ fundamental rights.
It involves the abuse of power contrary to the provisions of the law manifesting in arrest of a person without reasonable suspicion of committing a crime or arrest based purely on civil matters or detaining a suspect beyond the constitutionally allowed space of time and failing to bring to court for trial.
Unlawful arrest or detention is clearly barbaric, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void hence the courts are always willing to grant reliefs including compensation to the victim of unlawful arrest or detention once such case is established before the court.
This position of the law was given eloquent expression in a plethora of cases including Falade v A-G Lagos state (1980) 2NCLR. 771; Anogwie v Odom (2016) 16 WRN 166 at pp 183 -184. Enwere v COP (1993) 6NWLR (pt.299) 333. In FaladeV A-G Lagos state (supra) where the court not only deprecated improper or arbitrary use police power of arrest and detention, but the court in unmistakable terms, maintained that it (court) will not hesitate to condemn any improper use of power by any person or institution including the police and will readily grant reliefs against such persons or institution responsible for the abuse of power.
Thus, in Odogu v AG Federation &Ors (1996) 7DTLR Pt. 1 p.51 where the Appellant was arrested and detained from 4th August 1980 and released from custody on 31st March 1988, the Supreme Court awarded punitive and exemplary damages against the respondents having found that the Appellant was detained for nearly 8 years in prison custody without being charged to court of competent jurisdiction within reasonable time or at all as required by the constitution. The Supreme Court judgment is very commendable as it is in line with the constitutional provisions with regards to unlawful arrest and detention of a suspect.
Truly, section 32 (4) of the 1979 constitution is imparimateria with section 35 (4) of the 1999 constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which provides thus: “Any person who is arrested or detained …… shall be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time’’. Reasonable time is defined in paragraph (a) of the subsection as a period of one day where the arrest or detention occurs where there is a court of competent jurisdiction within a radius of forty kilometres while paragraph (b) of same sub section provides for a period of two days or such longer period as court may consider to be reasonable.
Indeed, the case of Odogu v. AG Federation &Ors (supra) found support in section 35 (6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which provides that “Any person who is unlawfully arrested or detained shall be entitled to compensation and public apology from the appropriate authority or person; and in this subsection, the appropriate authority means the authority or person specified by law. It is immaterial that the unlawful arrest or detention is for a short period. So long as it is wrongful, and has no legal basis for such arrest or detention ab initio. This been adumbrated in the case of Gusau&Ors V Umezurike (2012) LPELR-8000 (CA), where the court held thus “detention, no matter how short can be a breach of fundamental right….if the detention is adjudged wrongful or unlawful in the first place, that is if there is no legal foundation to base the arrest and/or detention…”
While the powers vested on the police in crime control for instance, are very enormous and vital to peace, security and justice administration in our nation when applied within the confines of the law and could strengthen the rule of law and whittle down considerably the rule of force, executive lawlessness and rascality, abuse of such powers through the violation of a citizens’ rights will definitely lead to award of damages against the police.
It is clear from the above that prolonged detention without an order of a court of competent jurisdiction is unlawful and can be a ground for award of damages and apologies from the perpetrators of the fundamental rights violation.
Even where a man under any guise procures the police to do illicit duties such as arrest and detention without legal basis or foundation the instigator and the institution /the arresting authority, in law are expected to face the consequences of such breach of the citizens’ fundamental rights. See Gusau&Ors V Umezurike (supra) Agbakoba V Director, SSS (1994) 7NWLR. (Pt. 305) 353.
Despite this clear position of the constitution, illegal arrests and detention more often than not, still stare the common man on the face as a weapon in the hands of unscrupulous citizens who intimidate and harass innocent citizens and other vulnerable persons in the society through arbitrary use of police and other security agents’ to settle personal scores.
This is reprehensible, unsupported by law and deserves punitive damages against the perpetrators to serve as a deterrent to orders.
It is worrisome that even in simple civil transactions such as tenancy matters or failure to pay debts, people still rush to police to lodge ‘complaints’ following which victims are arrested and detained for weeks or longer periods whereas there is no element of criminality on the transactions.
Today a volley of forceful eviction cases abound where a land lords for instance, procure the services of security operatives or even thugs to forcefully eject tenants and throw away their property because issues of arrears of rent or for any other reason.
This is unlawful and a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the tenants. Such unlawful use of thugs, police, or any other security agent’s power attracts aggravated damages, where the aggrieved victim of such abuse decides to exercise his power of enforcement of his fundamental rights against his oppressors. Without mincing words, unlawful arrest and detention are prohibited by our constitution and other laws of the land including the Administration of criminal Justice Act 2015 and its domestications in the various states of the federation.
Wisdom therefore dictates that citizens should familiarize themselves with the laws, as ignorance of the law is no excuse for any wrong doing. Unlawful arrests and detention still persist today because many victims fail to enforce their rights against such breach of fundamental rights.
