11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Sometimes crime witnesses were held for periods of up to several months ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 19649]

"Persons who happened to be in the vicinity of a crime when it was committed were sometimes held for interrogation for periods ranging from a few hours to several months. After their release, those detained were frequently asked to return repeatedly for further questioning."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Police and security forces abuse power to arrest without warrant; suspects can be held up to 48 hours before being charged of an offense; detainees held uninformed and incommunicado ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22905]

"Police and security forces were empowered to arrest without warrant based on reasonable suspicion that a person had committed an offense; they often abused this power. Under the law police may detain persons for 48 hours before charging them with an offense. The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest and to take the accused to a police station for processing within a reasonable time. By law police must provide suspects with the opportunity to engage counsel and post bail. However, suspects were routinely detained without being informed of the charges, denied access to counsel and family members, and denied the opportunity to post bail for bailable offenses. Detainees often were kept incommunicado for long periods. Provision of bail was often arbitrary or subject to extrajudicial influence. In many areas there was no functioning bail system, so suspects were held in investigative detention for prolonged periods. Numerous suspects alleged that police demanded payment before they were taken to court to have their cases heard. If family members attended court proceedings, police often demanded additional payment."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Governorship candidates and other party officials arrested arbitrarily ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22906]

"There were many alleged cases of arbitrary arrest based on political motives. For example, on April 15, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State and other key officials of the party were arrested and detained by security agents. Some were released immediately following the presidential elections On April 18, the ANPP governorship candidate in Ebonyi State, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, was beaten and arrested after his supporters protested the results of the gubernatorial elections. Onu was released after the presidential elections. On April 30, Emmanuel Ezeazu, secretary general of the Alliance for Credible Elections, was detained and questioned by the SSS in connection with a planned demonstration against the conduct of the April 22 elections. He was asked to sign an agreement not to organize or protest, but he declined to do so and was released on May 1."

Document(s): Open document

28.01.2008 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Port Harcourt: Residents say that police have wrongly blamed them for street violence between rival cult groups last year and are carrying out indiscriminate raids into their communities motivated by financial greed not criminal investigation ("Police corruption blamed for wave of arrests") [ID 22636]

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Government has not responded to a court order to release an imam detained since May 2003 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19477]

"Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. The government still had not responded to a court order to release a Kaduna central mosque imam detained since May 2003. It was not known whether the imam was still alive, and there were no updates on his case during the year."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Although arbitrary arrest is forbidden, police and security forces continue to employ these practices ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19615]

"Arbitrary Arrest or Detention The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, police and security forces continued to employ these practices."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Police often abused power to make arrests without warrants based on reasonable suspicion; suspects were detained without being informed of charges, kept incommunicado ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19648]

"Police and security forces were empowered to arrest without warrant based on reasonable suspicion that a person had committed an offense; they often abused this power. Under the law police may detain persons for 24 hours before charging them with an offense. The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest and to take the accused to a police station for processing within a reasonable amount of time. By law police must provide suspects with the opportunity to engage counsel and post bail. However, suspects were routinely detained without being informed of the charges, denied access to counsel and family members, and denied the opportunity to post bail for bailable offenses. Detainees often were kept incommunicado for long periods. Provision of bail was often arbitrary or subject to extrajudicial influence. In many areas there was no functioning bail system, so suspects were held in investigative detention for prolonged periods. Numerous suspects alleged that police demanded payment before they were taken to court to have their cases heard. If family members attended court proceedings, police often demanded additional payment."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

There were no reports of police placing relatives of wanted suspects in detention ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19704]

"Unlike in the previous year, there were no known reports that police and security forces continued the practice of placing relatives and friends of wanted suspects in detention without criminal charge to induce suspects to surrender to arrest."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Police and security forces empowered to arrest without warrant ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17070]

"Police and security forces were empowered to arrest without warrant based on reasonable suspicion that a person had committed an offense; they often abused this power. Under the law, police may detain persons for 24 hours before charging them with an offense. The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest and to take the accused to a police station for processing within a reasonable amount of time. By law police must provide suspects with the opportunity to engage counsel and post bail. However, suspects routinely were detained without being informed of the charges, denied access to counsel and family members, and denied the opportunity to post bail for bailable offenses. Detainees often were kept incommunicado for long periods. Provision of bail often was arbitrary or subject to extrajudicial influence. In many areas, there was no functioning bail system, so suspects were held in investigative detention for sustained periods. Numerous suspects alleged that police demanded payment before they were taken to court to have their cases heard. If family members attended court proceedings, police often demanded additional payment."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Practice of placing relatives and friends of wanted suspects in detention without charge is continued ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17086]

"Police and security forces continued the practice of placing relatives and friends of wanted suspects in detention without criminal charge to induce suspects to surrender to arrest."

Document(s): Open document

01.2005 - Source: Danish Immigration Service

Usually the media is on the spot when the NPF are arresting people; often they are released shortly afterwards ("Report on human rights issues in Nigeria: Joint British-Danish fact-finding mission to Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria (19 October to 2 November 2004)") [#30412],  [ID 20646]

"When the NPF are arresting people, including prominent persons, the media is normally on the spot and very often such persons are being released shortly afterwards. Momoh
emphasized that the Nigerian media is very vocal and is reporting almost every episode of bad police behaviour."

Document(s): Open document

02.06.2004 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Plateau State: National Assembly has approved eight new laws giving President Obasanjo sweeping powers in Plateau State/ the police and other security services got the power to detain people indefinitely, conduct searches without warrants, impose curfews and ban public processions ("Legislators give Obasanjo sweeping powers in Plateau") [#23016],  [ID 14931]

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: UK Home Office

Despite constitutional provisions prohibiting arbitrary arrest and detention, police and security forces continue to use arbitrary arrest and detention ("Country Report - October 2003") [#17332],  [ID 14896]

"5.19 The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, security forces generally did not observe these prohibitions. Police and security forces continued to use arbitrary arrest and detention. Police and security forces are empowered to make arrests without warrants if they believed that there was reason to suspect that a person had committed an offence; they often abused this power. Under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedures Rules of the Constitution, police may arrest and detain persons for 24 hours before charging them with an offence. The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest and to take the accused persons to a station for processing within a reasonable amount of time. By law police must provide suspects with the opportunity to engage counsel and post bail. However, police generally did not adhere to legally mandated procedures. Suspects routinely were detained without being informed of the charges, denied access to counsel and family members, and denied the opportunity to post bail for bailable offences. Detainees often were kept incommunicado for long periods of time. The provision for bail often was arbitrary or subject to extra-judicial influence. In many parts of the country, there was no functioning system of bail, so many suspects were held in investigative detention for sustained periods of time. Numerous suspects alleged that police demanded payment before they were taken to court to have their cases heard. Police often demand an additional payment, from family members who attend court proceedings."

Document(s): Open document

04.03.2002 - Source: US Department of State

Police and security forces continued to use arbitrary arrest and detention ("Annual report 2001") [#5760],  [ID 14932]

"The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, security forces generally did not observe these prohibitions. Police and security forces continued to use arbitrary arrest and detention. Police and security forces are empowered to make arrests without warrants if they believed that there was reason to suspect that a person had committed an offense; they often abused this power. Under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedures Rules of the Constitution, police may arrest and detain persons for 24 hours before charging them with an offense. The law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at the time of arrest and to take the accused persons to a station for processing within a reasonable amount of time. By law police must provide suspects with the opportunity to engage counsel and post bail. However, police generally did not adhere to legally mandated procedures. Suspects routinely were detained without being informed of the charges, denied access to counsel and family members, and denied the opportunity to post bail for bailable offenses. Detainees often were kept incommunicado for long periods of time. The provision for bail often was arbitrary or subject to extrajudicial influence. In many parts of the country, there was no functioning system of bail, so many suspects were held in investigative detention for sustained periods of time. Numerous suspects alleged that police demanded payment before they were taken to court to have their cases heard. If family members attend court proceedings, police often demand an additional payment."

Document(s): Open document