By Sylvester Udemezue
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
There is a growing and troubling dissonance between several provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, the philosophy of civil liberty and fundamental rights, and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
One such troubling provision is section 293(1) ACJA, which provides:
“A suspect arrested for an offence which a Magistrate Court has no jurisdiction to try shall, within a reasonable time of arrest, be brought before a Magistrate Court for remand.”
This provision, and its application in practice, raises grave constitutional, jurisprudential, and moral questions, especially where a suspect voluntarily honours an invitation by a law-enforcement agency.
SOME CRITICAL QUESTIONS ARISING
(A). VOLUNTARY APPEARANCE vs ARREST
1. Is there no legal distinction between a suspect who voluntarily honours an EFCC invitation, and a suspect arrested while committing an offence, attempting to escape, resisting arrest, jumping bail, escaping from lawful custody, or posing a reasonable flight or security risk?
2. If such distinctions exist in law and logic, why does the ACJA appear to collapse them into one undifferentiated category of “arrested suspects”?
3. How does the EFCC, in law and in practice, distinguish between a person who voluntarily honours its invitation, and a person who is arrested because he refused or failed to honour an invitation?
(B). ADMINISTRATIVE BAIL AND ITS LEGAL MEANING
4. Should a person who voluntarily honours an EFCC invitation ordinarily be detained at all, except in truly exceptional circumstances?
5. If yes, what exactly made Mr. Malami’s case “exceptional”?
6. Why did the EFCC grant Mr. Malami administrative bail if there were already sufficient grounds to justify continued detention? See: Malami detained for failing to meet bail conditions — EFCC’ Punch (13 December 2025); ‘EFCC: Malami Didn’t Meet Five Bail Conditions Granted Him on November 28’ THISDAYLIVE (14 December 2025)
7. Does the grant of administrative bail not amount to a positive assessment by the EFCC that (i).the suspect is not a flight risk, (ii). will cooperate with investigation, and (iii). can be trusted to remain available?
8. If so, what changed between the grant of administrative bail and the subsequent application for a remand order?
(C). REMAND ORDERS AND THE PROBLEM OF UNFETTERED DISCRETION
Section 293(2) ACJA provides that an application for remand
*”…shall be made ex parte and shall be verified on oath and contain reasons for the remand request.”*
9. Why does the Act fail to define or limit the acceptable reasons upon which a remand request may be made?
10. Can a remand order lawfully be sought on any ground whatsoever, or must such grounds meet constitutional and judicially recognised thresholds?
11. Is it reasonable, or constitutionally defensible, to seek a remand order to continue detaining a person who voluntarily honoured an invitation and was already granted bail?
(D). DISCLOSURE, CANDOUR, AND JUDICIAL SCRUTINY
12. In light of Fawehinmi v. IGP, was it proper for a court to grant a remand order to continue detaining a citizen who voluntarily honoured an EFCC invitation, and had already been granted administrative bail?
13. Did the EFCC fully and candidly disclose to the court, in its ex parte remand application, that it had already granted Mr. Malami administrative bail the conditions for which Mr Malami was yet to meet at the time of EFCC’s application for the remand order?
14. If the court had been aware of this fact, would it still have granted an ex parte remand order authorising14 additional days of detention, on top of the days Mr. Malami had already spent in EFCC custody?
15. Why did the court not insist on being addressed on what had changed since the grant of administrative bail?
16. Or are remand orders now granted as a matter of course/routine, rather than as an exceptional judicial measure?
(E). SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF SECTION 293 ACJA
Section 293 applies to suspects who are “arrested.”
17. Was Mr. Malami “arrested” in law, or did he merely honour an invitation? Is it reasonable for a person who voluntarily honours an invitation to be later treated as an “arrested” person for purposes of remand?
18. If yes, on what legal grounds? Subject to what safeguards?
19. Are remand provisions not primarily meant for suspects arrested under circumstances showing reasonable apprehension of violence, risk of escape, prior escape from custody, or resistance to lawful arrest or similar circumstances?
(F). DETENTION PENDING INVESTIGATION: PURPOSE OR PUNISHMENT?
20. What legitimate purpose does detention pending completion of investigation serve where an administrative bail has already been granted, and bail conditions are in place?
21. Why did the EFCC not simply allow Mr. Malami time to meet his bail conditions?
22. Were the bail conditions imposed by the EFCC not stringent or reasonable enough to secure his availability?
23. If investigations had not been concluded, does that not mean the EFCC was still uncertain whether to charge Mr. Malami, and for what offence?
24. If the EFCC was unsure whether or how to arraign him, why detain him at all, especially given his voluntary cooperation?
(G). ARRAIGNMENT, INVESTIGATION, AND CONTRADICTIONS
One recognised condition for granting a remand order, derived from judicial decisions, is that arraignment is impracticable within 24–48 hours. This requirement flows directly from section 35(4) of the Constitution, which prioritises early arraignment or release. Failure to justify this impracticability vitiates a remand application. Yet, reports indicate that the EFCC had already drafted and filed charges against Mr. Malami: see
*”EFCC files 16 money laundering charges against Malami, son, associate”* (The Guardian, 25 December 2025)
25. Does the filing of charges not constitute prima facie evidence that investigation had been concluded?
26. If so, what then justified the continued detention of Mr. Malami?
(H). BROADER SYSTEMIC QUESTIONS
27. Is it not now obvious that many of our criminal justice laws are weak, manipulable, easily misapplied or abused by those in authority?
28. Where are certainty, predictability, impregnability, transparency, and accountability in our legal system?
29. Have our laws not become instruments that bend to the whims and caprices of power, rather than safeguards against abuse?
30. Who will save Nigeria from its weak, pliable, and ineffective laws?
31. When shall we wake up? Are our laws not, in their present state, doing grave harm to the nation they are meant to protect?
32. Are our courts afraid of the EFCC? Or have we made a mockery of the independence of the judiciary?
33. Is this not the same EFCC headed by a lawyer?
To be continued.
Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue (Udems)
udems@therealityministry.ngo
08021365546
(28 December 2025)
Get your copy today and take the first step toward financial growth:👉 https://selar.co/4f16676016
_______________________________________________________________________
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR LAWYERS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
Reimagine your practice with the power of AI “...this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic.” — Ohio Books Ltd
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe, Esq., ACIArb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director, Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
Bonus:
Get a FREE eBook titled “How to Use the AI in Legalpedia and Law Pavilion” with every purchase.
How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌐 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access directly online at: https://selar.com/prv626
________________________________________________________________________ The Law And Practice Of Redundancy In Nigeria: A Practitioner’s Guide, Authored By A Labour & Employment Law Expert Bimbo Atilola
_______________________________________________________________________
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
