He also noted that Federal High Court judges have powers to inspect other detention facilities within their jurisdictions to ensure suspects are not held beyond constitutionally permitted periods.
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take urgent steps to curb what he described as illegal arrests and prolonged detention of citizens by the police and other law enforcement agencies.
Falana, in a statement issued on Sunday, urged the NBA leadership, headed by Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, to ensure that lawyers attached to the association’s Human Rights Committees accompany magistrates during their mandatory monthly inspections of police stations.
He noted that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Nigeria Police Force Establishment Act 2020 empower Chief Magistrates to visit police stations, inspect arrest records, order the release or arraignment of suspects and grant bail where appropriate.
“Chief Magistrates are mandated to conduct monthly visits to all police stations in all magisterial districts in Nigeria,” Falana said.
He also noted that Federal High Court judges have powers to inspect other detention facilities within their jurisdictions to ensure suspects are not held beyond constitutionally permitted periods.
However, Falana alleged that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court had yet to designate judges to conduct the required visits.
He therefore called on the NBA to “mount pressure on the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to designate Judges to conduct monthly visit to all detention facilities other than police stations.”
Falana further urged the NBA to activate its statutory powers under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, which makes the association’s President and national officers official visitors to correctional centres across the country.
“The new leadership of the NBA should mobilise the national officers to carry out their statutory duties under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 without any further delay,” he said.
The lawyer also referenced a judgment of the National Industrial Court 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 held that police authorities have a mandatory duty to deploy legal practitioners serving as police officers to every police division.
According to Falana, the deployment is required under Section 66(3) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020 to strengthen the protection of 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,” he said.
Falana urged the NBA to use the available legal provisions to protect indigent Nigerians from unlawful arrests and detention by the police and other security agencies.
“In particular, the NBA should invoke the provisions of the relevant law to end the illegal arrest and detention of indigent citizens by the police and other law enforcement agencies,” he said.