*Says “Further Detention of Agu Is Illegal and Unconstitutional”
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Renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has condemned the continued detention of Chinedu Agu, Esq at the Owerri Correctional Centre, describing it as “illegal and unconstitutional.” Falana’s reaction follows reports that the Imo State Police Command and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) are refusing to release Agu due to a technicality in the Federal High Court’s bail order.
“By virtue of Section 287 of the Constitution, the order of the Federal High Court is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria, including the authorities of the Correctional Centre at Owerri, Imo State,” Falana stated. He explained that while the magistrate had initially rejected Agu’s bail and ordered his remand in prison, the Federal High Court subsequently granted him bail. “The implication of the order of the Federal High Court is that the remand order of the Magistrate Court has been set aside or quashed. To that extent, the further detention of the lawyer by the Correctional Centre is illegal and unconstitutional,” he added.
Falana expressed dismay at the disregard for court orders in the current democratic dispensation, recalling that judicial authority was more respected under military rule. He cited the landmark case Ogunyade v. Inspector-General of Police & Ors (Nigeria Law of Habeas Corpus, NLP Ltd, 1986, p. 387), where the Lagos State Commissioner of Police absurdly claimed non-responsibility for a detainee held in his custody. The trial judge rejected the claim and ordered the immediate release of the applicant.
The current impasse stems from the Imo State Police and NCoS insisting that the Federal High Court bail order applied only to the police the initial detaining authority and not explicitly to the correctional facility. Consequently, Agu remains in custody while his legal team prepares a fresh application, which the Federal High Court has directed to be filed urgently for next week’s hearing.
Agu, the former Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri Branch, was arraigned more than four days ago at a Magistrate’s Court on charges of criminal defamation, incitement, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace. The allegations arose from Facebook posts in which he criticized the Imo State government under Governor Hope Uzodinma as “tyranny trapped in sinking bureaucracy,” compared Imo unfavorably to Enugu State, and accused the police “Tiger Base Unit” of “unchecked, barbaric, brutish, savagery, and callous human rights abuse.”
During the arraignment before Chief Magistrate Obinna Njemanze, who also serves as Deputy Chief Registrar of the Imo State High Court, Agu pleaded not guilty. He was represented by a formidable team of over 30 lawyers led by former Imo State Attorney-General Miletus Onukoagu Nlemadim. The police prosecution, led by Mr. F.O. Itua, immediately sought his remand, which the magistrate granted, citing lack of jurisdiction over the charges, and adjourned the case to October 29.
Following the magistrate’s decision, Agu’s lawyers filed an urgent bail application at the Federal High Court, which was approved to allow his temporary release. However, because the order was not directed at the custodial authority, it could not be executed immediately. The Federal High Court has now instructed that a fresh application be filed specifically covering the corrections authority, with the hearing scheduled for next week.
Lawyers and civil society organizations have condemned Agu’s detention, describing it as politically motivated and an attempt to intimidate government critics. The NBA called the actions an “abuse of power,”.
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACiarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
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