Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights activist, on Sunday called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take what he described as decisive measures against the illegal arrest and detention of citizens across the country.
The SAN, in a statement titled “It is time for the NBA to stop the illegal arrest and detention of Nigerian citizens,” argued that the NBA, under its new leadership, must enforce existing laws designed to protect the rights of suspects.
Falana referred to Section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and Section 70 of the Nigerian Police Force Establishment Act 2020, which require chief magistrates to conduct monthly visits to all police stations within their magistrate districts.
In his words, during such visits, chief magistrates are empowered to inspect arrest records, order suspects to be brought to court for prosecution or trial and grant bail in warranting cases.
The human rights activist highlighted that both laws also empower Federal High Court judges to visit other detention centers within their jurisdiction to ensure that suspects are not detained beyond the constitutional limit, regretting that the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court has not yet appointed judges for that task.
According to him, “We are constrained to ask the Nigerian Bar Association, under the leadership of Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, to ensure that members of the Human Rights Committees of the 145 branches of the Association make it their duty to accompany magistrates during monthly visits and inspections of police stations.”
Falana also charged NBA leaders with increasing pressure on the chief judge of the Federal High Court to appoint judges to make monthly visits to all detention centers, except police stations.
The SAN also referred to Section 21 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, which makes the President and national officials of the NBA official visitors to all correctional facilities in the country, asking them to immediately discharge their legal duties.
Falana cited the judgment in The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar v Police Service Commission & Ors (Complaint No: NICN/ABJ/264/2025) where Justice OY Anuwe of the National Industrial Court declared that police authorities have a mandatory duty to deploy police officers who are legal professionals in every police division to enforce human rights in policing as provided in Section 66(3) of the Nigerian Police Act of 2020.
“In accordance with the terms of this ruling, the new leadership of the NBA must ensure that police officers who are legal professionals are assigned to each police station to supervise the observance of the human rights of suspects,” the SAN stated.
Falana added that the NBA should invoke relevant laws to end the illegal arrest and detention of indigent citizens by police and other law enforcement agencies.