Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights activist, Femi Falana, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take decisive action against the illegal arrest and detention of citizens across the country.
Falana, in a statement titled “Time for NBA to Stop Illegal Arrest and Detention of Nigerian Citizens,” urged the NBA, under its new leadership, to enforce existing laws designed to protect the rights of suspects in police custody and other detention facilities.
He specifically cited 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 conduct monthly visits to police stations within their jurisdictions.
According to him, the Chief Magistrates are empowered during such visits to inspect arrest records, order that suspects be brought before courts for arraignment or trial, and grant bail where appropriate.
The human rights lawyer also noted that judges of the Federal High Court are empowered to visit detention facilities within their jurisdictions to ensure that suspects are not held beyond the constitutionally permitted period.
Falana, however, lamented that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court had yet to designate judges to carry out the monthly inspections of detention facilities other than police stations.
He urged NBA President, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, to ensure that members of the Human Rights Committees across the association’s 145 branches accompany magistrates during their monthly visits to police stations.
“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,” Falana said.
He further called on the NBA leadership to pressure the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to designate judges to conduct regular inspections of detention facilities.
Falana also invoked Section 21 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, which recognises the President and national officers of the NBA as official visitors to correctional centres across the country.
He urged the NBA leadership to immediately begin carrying out its statutory responsibilities under the law.
The SAN also referred to a judgment in The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar v Police Service Commission & Ors (Suit No. NICN/ABJ/264/2025), in which Justice O. Y. Anuwe of the National Industrial Court held that police authorities have a mandatory duty to deploy police officers who are legal practitioners to every police division to enforce human rights in policing.
Falana said the NBA should ensure compliance with the judgment by deploying police officers who are legal practitioners to police stations to monitor the treatment and rights of suspects.
He ultimately called on the NBA to use relevant legal provisions to bring an end to the illegal arrest and prolonged detention of indigent Nigerians by the police and other law enforcement agencies.
