Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take a more active role in monitoring police stations and correctional centres across the country.
Falana said stronger involvement by lawyers in statutory inspections of detention facilities would help prevent unlawful arrests, prolonged detention and other violations of the rights of suspects and inmates.
In a statement yesterday, the legal practitioner urged the new NBA leadership, headed by President Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, to ensure that members of the association’s Human Rights Committees participate in monthly inspections of police stations across Nigeria.
He noted that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, require Chief Magistrates to visit police stations within their jurisdictions every month.
According to Falana, the visits are intended to enable magistrates to examine arrest records, ensure that suspects are properly arraigned where necessary and grant bail to deserving detainees.
He argued that the presence of NBA Human Rights Committee members during such inspections would strengthen the process and provide additional legal support for citizens who may be unable to afford legal representation.
Falana also called on the NBA to engage the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court over the statutory requirement for judges to conduct monthly inspections of detention facilities other than police stations.
He expressed concern that judges had not yet been designated by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to carry out the required visits, urging the NBA to press for immediate compliance.
The SAN further reminded the NBA leadership that the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, designates the President and National Officers of the association as official visitors to correctional centres.
He urged the new national leadership of the NBA to begin regular visits to correctional facilities, describing the exercise as an important mechanism for monitoring the treatment of inmates and safeguarding their rights.
Falana also referenced a recent National Industrial Court judgment which, according to him, affirmed the obligation of police authorities to deploy legal practitioners within the police force to every Police Division in the country.
He said the deployment of police officers who are trained lawyers would strengthen legal and human rights compliance at the divisional level, in line with Section 66(3) of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020.
The human rights lawyer therefore charged the NBA to use the legal mechanisms available to it to strengthen accountability within the criminal justice system.
He stressed that greater participation of lawyers in detention oversight, coupled with compliance with existing laws and court decisions, would help reduce arbitrary detention and improve the protection of citizens’ constitutional rights.
