KEY POINTS
- The constitutional power to arrest or detain civilians does not exist in the EFCC.
- The Arrest powers are limited to the Security agencies like Police or Armed Forces.
- Legislative approval must be necessary for any limitation of civil liberties.
Legal expert Fredrick Awkadigwe said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) does not have the constitutional right to hold or keep arresting civilians.
Speaking on the laws guiding any such powers, Awkadigwe in a recent statement asked if only some security agencies like the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) or Armed Force have the powers to detain civilians.
Of legislative limits concerning arrest powers
However, Awkadigwe reminded that the powers to arrest and detain are limited to only agencies created under the Constitution.
On paper, Section 214 of the Constitution confers almost all these powers on the NPF, and Section 217 on the Armed Forces. The EFCC was created to fight corruption but was not legally classified as a security service.
According to him, there is also nowhere in the Constitution where the National Assembly or any state legislature can circumscribe the freedom of personal movement outside an officially declared emergency.
Civilian rights cannot be curtailed without specific legislative authority; the Nigerian Constitution guarantees that. Any power to arrest or detain civilians is, therefore, reserved for the police and armed forces.
On why EFCC cannot detain civilians in Nigeria law
According to the EFCC, which was set up under anti corruption laws, it cannot exercise detention powers outside periods of emergency. Awkadigwe said the constitution does not give the EFCC the right to trample on peoples rights.
Furthermore, constraints on personal freedom such as arrest and detention are very serious ones which need to be very strictly founded in legislation.
As a conclusion according to Vanguard, Awkadigwe said only constitutionally recognized bodies can limit civil liberties. Even though EFCC played a role in fighting corruption, under the current legal frame work in Nigeria, it is not legally allowed to detain civilians.
