*Says time for NBA to stop illegal arrest, detention of Nigerians
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association under its new President, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, to take immediate and coordinated steps to curb what he described as the widespread illegal arrest and detention of citizens by the police and other law-enforcement agencies.
Falana made the call on Sunday in a statement titled “Time for NBA to Stop Illegal Arrest and Detention of Nigerian Citizens,” arguing that the Association should move beyond condemnation and actively enforce existing statutory safeguards designed to protect suspects from unlawful detention.
He relied on Section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and Section 70 of the Nigeria Police Force Establishment Act, 2020, which require Chief Magistrates to undertake monthly visits to police stations within their magisterial districts.
According to Falana, the laws empower Chief Magistrates during such visits to inspect arrest records, examine the circumstances surrounding the detention of suspects, direct that detainees be taken before appropriate courts for arraignment or trial and grant bail in deserving cases.
He said the statutory mechanism was specifically designed to prevent suspects from being kept indefinitely in police custody without judicial oversight.
Falana therefore urged the NBA to mobilise members of its Human Rights Committees across its branches to participate actively in the process.
“We are compelled to call on the Nigerian Bar Association under the leadership of Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya to ensure that members of the Human Rights Committees of all the 145 branches of the Association make it a point of duty to accompany the Magistrates during the monthly visits and inspection of police stations,” he said.
The senior lawyer also drew attention to detention facilities outside police stations, saying judges of the Federal High Court are empowered under the relevant laws to visit such facilities within their jurisdictions to ensure that suspects are not detained beyond the period permitted by the Constitution.
He, however, lamented that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court had yet to designate judges to undertake the responsibility.
Falana consequently called on the NBA leadership to mount pressure on the Chief Judge to designate judges who would conduct the required monthly inspections of detention facilities other than police stations.
He further invoked Section 21 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, which, according to him, designates the President and national officers of the NBA as official visitors to correctional centres across the country.
Falana urged the newly inaugurated national officers to begin performing that statutory responsibility without delay.
He said the legal framework already provides the Association with considerable opportunities to monitor detention conditions, protect the rights of suspects and intervene where people are being held unlawfully.
Falana also referred to the judgment in The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar v Police Service Commission & Ors, Suit No. NICN/ABJ/264/2025, delivered by Justice O. Y. Anuwe of the National Industrial Court.
He said the court declared that police authorities have a mandatory responsibility to deploy police officers who are legal practitioners to police divisions in accordance with Section 66(3) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, for the purpose of promoting respect for human rights in policing.
“In line with the terms of this judgment, the new NBA leadership should ensure that police officers who are legal practitioners are assigned to every police station to monitor the observance of the human rights of suspects,” Falana said.
He maintained that implementation of the judgment, regular inspection of police stations and detention facilities, and active involvement of NBA Human Rights Committees could substantially reduce cases of unlawful detention.
The SAN particularly expressed concern about indigent Nigerians who may lack the financial resources or legal representation necessary to challenge unlawful arrest and prolonged detention.
He urged the NBA to use the various statutory powers and legal mechanisms available to it to protect such citizens and hold law-enforcement agencies accountable.
Falana’s intervention comes days after Badejo-Okusanya assumed office as the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association, with a pledge that her administration would defend the rule of law, protect lawyers and citizens, and strengthen the justice system.
Falana said that commitment should now translate into a coordinated nationwide programme by the NBA to ensure that constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention are enforced in practice.
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