A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeboro Adamson, SAN, has dismissed claims by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that the detention of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) amounts to selective justice.
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In an interview on Arise TV’s “The News Tonight,” Adamson stated that the law is a leveler and nobody is above the law, noting that suspects can employ the “antics of politics” to discredit law enforcement agencies but such tactics do not change the law.
When asked if he appreciates the stance of ADC accusing the government of selective justice given El-Rufai’s high profile status, Adamson was unequivocal.
“As far as I’m concerned, my position is this. The law is a leveler. And nobody is above the law. Justice must be done to everybody in the perspective of class, status or whatever you belong to,” he said.
“And again, you will live in a glass house or something. Why do you say that? Now the question is, if you know you’re in opposition and you know you are not clean, why should you begin to make inflammatory statements that’s capable of destroying the unity of Nigeria or the national security of Nigeria? So these are the issues.”
The senior advocate dismissed comparisons with other high-profile individuals who were allegedly treated differently.
“To me, yes, you can employ the antics of policies to discredit what the law enforcement agencies are doing. But as far as I’m concerned, the fact that A was not caught and B is caught does not create a dichotomy. The law is the law. If you offend, if you break the law, then you face the law,” Adamson stated.
Explaining the legal framework for detention, Adamson cited Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees every Nigerian citizen the right to liberty in person, though the right is not absolute and can be derogated from.
He also cited Sections 293 and 296 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which give law enforcement agencies the right to apply to a court for a remand order.
“The first remand order that the court will grant will last for fourteen days. Subject to renewal for another fourteen days,” he explained.
“Now, if at the end of fourteen, fourteen, that’s twenty-eight days, the law enforcement agency has not concluded investigation, they still have another fourteen days. So in total you have fourteen days in three places before that right will be exhausted. But they must go back to the court.”
Adamson noted that after 28 days, it becomes more difficult for law enforcement agencies to secure another extension.
“At the end of twenty-eight days, it is the right of the suspect to approach court for bail and if that particular person meets the condition, the court will grant it. But you see, after the twenty-eight days, it becomes a difficult task for the law enforcement agency to secure another fourteen days in total because you have to give compelling reason why you want to keep that person in prison for another fourteen days,” he stated.
On whether ICPC should have informed the public about securing another remand order after the first fourteen days elapsed, Adamson clarified that explanation is owed to the court, not the public.
“Not explanation is to the court, not to me. Not to the public. It’s to the court. It’s not the public that will grant the application. It’s the court that will grant the application. So the explanation you want to offer must be offered to the court,” he said.
Addressing concerns about the line between legitimate investigation and unlawful detention, Adamson explained:
“Our laws have given powers to the law enforcement agencies to investigate suspicion of crime, suspicion of commission of crime. So to that extent where there is a suspicion of commission of crime, they have the power to invite and to arrest and to detain,” he said.
“But that detention by the provision of the Constitution that I’ve cited, Section 35, is to last for twenty-four hours where the court is closed and where it is open, it is forty-eight hours. So this is the constitutional right of the law enforcement agency and equally the corresponding rights of the suspect to apply to court for bail.”
The senior advocate noted that remedies exist for suspects who are wrongly detained.
“The law is clear. For every right that is wrong or for every damage to every right, there is remedy. And that is why the remedy is there for any suspect who has been arrested wrongly or detained wrongly to approach the court of law for redress. The laws are there to address the situation. So there is no big deal about that,” Adamson stated.
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