By: Sunday Ameh
Legal counsel to human rights activist and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore has faulted the actions of the Nigeria Police Force, saying that the declaration of his client as “wanted” by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, was unconstitutional and unlawful.
Appearing on The Morning Brief programme on Channels Television on Thursday, Sowore’s lawyer, Barrister Tope Temokun, stated emphatically that “there is no law in Nigeria that empowers the police to declare anybody wanted without a valid court order.”
Temokun explained that such declarations are legal processes that must follow due procedure. According to him, the law requires the police to first seek the approval of a competent court before making such a declaration public.
“When you are looking for someone in connection with a criminal complaint or investigation and the person is evading arrest, you can only declare that person wanted through a court order,” he said. “Anything outside that is an abuse of power, a tortious act, and a clear violation of constitutional rights.”
He further stressed that declaring Sowore wanted in this manner “reflects total ignorance of the law the police are meant to enforce.”
Citing constitutional provisions, Temokun reminded the police that every Nigerian has the right to freedom of movement and personal liberty, as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He added that such rights cannot be curtailed on the basis of “personal malice or political bias.”
Temokun also revealed that the matter had already been taken before the Federal High Court in Lagos, which has now restrained the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and other security agencies from arresting, intimidating, or declaring Sowore wanted.
The court order followed the police’s earlier claim that Sowore was wanted for allegedly plotting to disrupt public peace and obstruct traffic on the Third Mainland Bridge through a planned protest. Commissioner Jimoh had announced this during a press briefing in Lagos earlier in the week.
“I hereby, as the Commissioner of Police of the Lagos Police Command, declare Sowore wanted for causing a disturbance of public peace and acts to commit a serious felony by planning to obstruct traffic on the Third Mainland Bridge,” Jimoh had said.
However, Temokun described the statement as a gross abuse of police powers, emphasizing that “no individual can be declared wanted merely for organizing or participating in a protest,” which he said is a constitutional right under Nigeria’s democracy.
The Federal High Court’s order, therefore, bars the police from enforcing the declaration, pending the determination of the suit filed on behalf of the activist.
Meanwhile, legal and civil rights groups have continued to express concern over the growing trend of police overreach and arbitrary arrests in Nigeria, warning that such acts threaten democracy and citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and free expression.
Leave a Reply