Femi Falana wants the NBA to strengthen monitoring of police detention, correctional centres and other facilities to protect Nigerians from unlawful arrests.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has challenged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to make better use of its legal powers to protect Nigerians who are arrested or detained without due process.
Falana said the association should move beyond responding to human rights violations after they occur and become more actively involved in monitoring police stations, correctional centres and other places where suspects are held.
The senior lawyer made the call in a statement on Sunday while outlining several measures he believes the new NBA leadership should adopt to tackle cases of arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention.
At the centre of his proposal is greater cooperation between the NBA and judicial officers responsible for inspecting detention facilities.
Falana wants lawyers working with the NBA’s Human Rights Committees to join magistrates during their monthly visits to police stations.
He believes their involvement would provide additional legal scrutiny and make it easier to identify suspects who have remained in custody unlawfully.
The responsibility of magistrates to inspect police stations is already recognised under Nigerian law.
Falana cited the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Nigeria Police Force Establishment Act 2020 as legal frameworks supporting the inspections.
He explained that Chief Magistrates are expected to visit police stations within their magisterial districts every month. During such visits, they can examine police detention records and determine whether continued detention is justified.
Where a suspect is being held without proper legal grounds, the magistrate has the authority to take appropriate action, including ordering release, directing that the suspect be brought before a court or granting bail where the circumstances permit.
“Chief Magistrates are mandated to conduct monthly visits to all police stations in all magisterial districts in Nigeria,” Falana said.
For Falana, however, monitoring should not stop at police stations.
He also drew attention to the need for regular judicial oversight of other detention facilities, including those that fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
According to him, Federal High Court judges have the power to inspect detention centres within their jurisdictions to determine whether detainees are being kept beyond the period allowed by law.
Falana expressed concern that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court had not yet designated judges to carry out the required inspections.
He consequently asked the NBA to engage the Chief Judge and push for the appointment of judges who would undertake monthly visits to detention facilities other than police stations.
“Mount pressure on the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to designate Judges to conduct monthly visit to all detention facilities other than police stations,” he said.
The SAN also wants the NBA to utilise its position within Nigeria’s correctional system more effectively.
He pointed to the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, which recognises the NBA President and national officers as official visitors to correctional centres.
Rather than leaving this responsibility largely unused, Falana urged the association’s current leadership to send its national officers to correctional facilities and carry out the duties provided for under the law.
“The new leadership of the NBA should mobilise the national officers to carry out their statutory duties under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 without any further delay,” he stated.
Another part of Falana’s proposal concerns the presence of legally trained personnel within the police.
He referred to a decision of the National Industrial Court in a case involving the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar, the Police Service Commission and other parties.
The case, identified as Suit No. NICN/ABJ/264/2025, involved the deployment of legal practitioners serving as police officers.
Falana said Justice O. Y. Anuwe, who delivered the judgment, held that police authorities have a mandatory duty to deploy police officers who are qualified legal practitioners to police divisions.
He linked the requirement to Section 66(3) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020, arguing that the presence of such officers could help improve compliance with legal procedures and human rights standards.
Rather than limiting the role of police lawyers to administrative responsibilities, Falana wants them positioned where they can monitor the treatment of suspects.
“In line with the terms of this judgment, the new NBA leadership should ensure that police officers who are legal practitioners are assigned to every police station to monitor the observance of the human rights of suspects,” he said.
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association also emphasised the situation of poor Nigerians who come into contact with the criminal justice system.
He argued that lack of money should not determine whether an arrested person can secure protection against unlawful detention.
Indigent suspects may face greater difficulties challenging their detention because they may not have the resources to immediately engage private lawyers.
Falana therefore wants the NBA to deploy its existing legal and institutional powers to assist such citizens.
He called for the association to use the provisions contained in relevant legislation to challenge unlawful arrests and secure the release of people whose continued detention cannot be justified.
“In particular, the NBA should invoke the provisions of the relevant law to end the illegal arrest and detention of indigent citizens by the police and other law enforcement agencies,” Falana said.
His proposals place significant responsibility on the NBA’s new leadership to turn statutory powers into practical human rights interventions.
Regular visits to police stations could expose cases that have remained unresolved, while inspections of correctional centres could draw attention to inmates whose continued detention requires judicial review.
Similarly, the deployment of qualified lawyers within police formations could provide an additional layer of legal oversight at the investigative level.
Falana’s position is that Nigeria already has several laws designed to protect suspects and detainees. The major challenge, in his view, is ensuring that the institutions empowered by those laws actually exercise their responsibilities.
He therefore wants the NBA to work more closely with magistrates, judges, correctional authorities and the police to ensure that constitutional protections are respected.
The call comes as concerns over unlawful arrest, prolonged detention and access to legal representation continue to feature in discussions about Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
For Falana, strengthening the NBA’s intervention mechanisms would give vulnerable citizens a better chance of challenging violations and would also place greater pressure on law enforcement agencies to operate within the boundaries of the law.
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