On Arrest

Welcome to the Liberty series finale!

The discussion so far has been on section 35 (1) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

For this final part, we’d be looking at section 35 (2) – (7) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which borders on arrest in line with personal liberty.

Often times, when a person is about to be arrested or detained, we hear

“you have the right to remain silent….”

Well, that right of silence is created under the right to personal liberty.

Thus, where a person is being/ or has been arrested or detained, such person is at liberty to remain silent, avoid conversations or questions until after consultation with a lawyer of his own choice.

In protecting the personal liberty of individuals, a person who has been detained or arrested must be informed in writing of:

• The reasons

-Why he’s being arrested or detained (e.g “You’re being arrested/detained because your neighbour is dead);

• The facts

-What happened that led to his arrest or detention (e.g your neighbour’s wife came in and saw her husband’s dead body and it turns out you and your neighbour were the only one in the compound); and

• Grounds for his arrest or detention.

-What he is being arrested for(e.g “You’re being arrested/detained because there’s reasonable suspicion that you committed the crime, seeing you were the only one at home with your neighbour”)

It is clearly unreasonable to arrest someone and keep the reasons, facts and grounds of the arrest unknown to the person. That is indirectly kidnapping.

This doesn’t end with informing the person of the facts and grounds, but also, the information must be passed within twenty four (24) hours and in a language he understands.

For instance, where a Yoruba native who only understands the Yoruba language is arrested, such person must be informed of the facts and grounds in Yoruba since that is the language he understands.

Also, where a person is arrested or detained for committing a criminal offence, or in order to prevent him from committing a criminal offence, such individual should be brought to court within a ‘reasonable time’.

For an arrested or detained individual, who is in custody and not entitled to bail and has not been tried in a court within a period of two months from the date of his arrest or detention or, where the person has been released on bail but has not been tried in a court within a period of three months from the date of his arrest or detention, in such cases, the individual involved is expected be released without conditions or upon certain conditions ( i.e that he appears for trial at a later date).

REASONABLE TIME?
What does it mean when it is said that the individual should be brought to court within a ‘reasonable time’ above?

What this means is that:

• In the case of an arrest or detention in any place where there is a court of competent jurisdiction (a court that has the power to hear the case) within forty kilometers,(less than 2 hours)reasonable time would be a period of one day.

In any other case, reasonable time would be a period of two days or longer, as may be derermined by the court based on the circumstances.

UNLAWFULLY ARRESTED?
Where an individual has been unlawfully arrested, there is a provision in the constitution that entitles such person to compensation and public apology from the appropriate authority (which is an authority or person specified by law).

We’ve come to the end of Liberty series!

I trust you’ve learnt a lot, do well to walk in the consciousness of this right.

See you next timeeeeee

In the meantime, please share, drop a clap and also follow.

And as always….

Thank you for reading this article, I know you found this really helpful so do well to share to lots, lots of people.

The goal is to ensure that Nigerian citizens are aware of their rights

Let’s make that happen together!

Original image credit: https//kasartofficial.com/right-to-liberty

Author: Esther Ude.