GENERALLY, the function of the police (Nigeria Police Force) revolves around prevention, detection and investigation of crime in our society. The police also handle prosecution of criminal cases.
The power vested on the police in crime control therefore is very enormous and vital to peace, security and justice administration in our nation .A proper and legal application of the power especially in a democratic society will strengthen the rule of law and whittle down considerably the rule of force, executive lawlessness and rascality.
In carrying out the duties, situations arise where suspects are arrested and detained for the purpose of investigations and possible prosecution. This is in order provided the arrest and detention are done within the confines of the law.
However, where the power is abused contrarily to the provisions of the law such as 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, the courts will not hesitate to declare such act as unlawful and grant the necessary remedy to the unlawfully arrested and detained citizen.
This position of the law has been adumbrated 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 Falade V A-G Lagos state( supra) the court 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 such abuse of power.
Again, 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 brought 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 tandem with the constitutional provisions with regards to unlawful arrest and detention of a suspect.
Indeed, section 32 (4 ) of the 1979 constitution is im pari materia 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 before a court of law within 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.
It is clear from the above that it is only a court of competent jurisdiction that can decide whether to extend the detention of persons for any longer period and not the Police.
The case of Odogu (supra) was also supported by section 35 (6) of the constitution 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. This is the legal position in the case of Gusau & Ors V Umezurike (2012) LPELR-8000 (CA), where the court held that “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…”
Unlawful arrest or detention is clearly barbaric, illegal, unconstitutional null and void.
Unfortunately, illegal arrests and detention have more often than not, becomea 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 practice is reprehensible, unsupported by law and deserves punitive damages against the perpetrators.
It is indeed, appalling that even in cases of loan transactions, contract 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 even though there is no iota of criminality on the transactions.
Even more worrisome is forceful eviction where a land lord for instance, engages the services of security operatives or even thugs to forcefully evict a tenant and throw away his property because he is in arrears of rent or for any other reason.
This is unlawful and an unmitigated violation of the fundamental rights of the tenant. 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.
Indeed a man who under any guise procures the policeto do illicit duties such as arrest and detention without legal basis or foundation is in law is 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.
It is crystal clear that unlawful arrest and detention are prohibited by our constitution and other laws of the land including the Administration of criminal Act 2015 and its domestications in various state of the federation.
Citizens are advised to get familiar with the laws as ignorance of the law is no excuse for any wrong doing. Unlawful arrests and detention are so rampant because people fail to enforce their rights against such breach of fundamental rights.
It is not late to exercise this constitutional power against the evil of unlawful arrest and detention. Citizens should consult their lawyers whenever this breach occurs or is about to occur.The legal practitioner will surely take legal steps to get the necessary relief.
The society will be better and the interest of justice best served if arbitrary use of force, illegal arrests and detention are not condoned.
