The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has claimed that it acted constitutionally by detaining Omoyele Sowore, activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, for 48 hours.
Via a statement signed by Muyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), on Saturday, the police claimed they derived their powers from Section 35(4) of Nigeria’s Constitution.
FIJ has found this claim to be false.
“To be clear, Mr Sowore was released on bail well within the 48-hour constitutional window, in accordance with the provisions of Section 35(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended),” the NPF’s statement partly read.
FIJ reviewed this constitutional provision to verify their claim and found that the law only permitted them to hold him for 24 hours legally.
“Any person who is arrested or detained in accordance with subsection (1)(c) of this section shall be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time,” this provision reads.
READ MORE: CP Shogunle Lied. Sowore Not Obligated by Law or Duty to Reveal Sources
Subsection 1(c), which guarantees personal liberty, reads, “(1) Every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty and no person shall be deprived of such liberty save in the following cases and in accordance with a procedure permitted by law – (c) for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court or upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed a criminal offence, or to such extent as may be reasonably necessary to prevent his committing a criminal offence.”
This means arresting a suspect should precede a court appearance.
For the police’s 48-hour window, subsection 5 states, “In subsection (4) of this section, the expression ‘a reasonable time’ means –
“(a) In the case of an arrest or detention in any place where there is a court of competent jurisdiction within a radius of forty kilometres, a period of one day; and (b) In any other case, a period of two days or such longer period as in the circumstances may be considered by the court to be reasonable.”
FIJ ran a check via Google Maps to find the nearest courtroom to the Force Headquarters where Sowore was detained in Abuja. The closest to the facility was the FCT Judiciary Chief Magistrate Court, located 7.6 km away from the holding cell.
The constitution provides waivers for exceptional circumstances, such as if the suspect was arrested on a weekend, but the police arrested Sowore on Wednesday, and he could have been arraigned a day later.
FIJ earlier reported one instance of misinformation from police when Commissioner of Police Ayobami Shogunle lied about Sowore’s silence being a legal problem in the face of allegations.
The police force accused Sowore of forgery and cyberstalking, and the police insist there are petitions against him.
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