On the 18th of May 2021, the Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai declared the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, and other members of the NLC wanted for economic sabotage and attacks on public infrastructure under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, the Governor tweeted this information on his official Twitter handle. The tweet further stated that anyone that knew where he was hiding was to send a message to the Ministry of Justice Kaduna state, it was also made known that the said act will attract a handsome reward.
The Kaduna state workers had on Monday 17th day of May 2021 begun a five-day strike over the governor’s retrenchment of over 4000 workers and the alleged anti-labor policies of the Kaduna State Government. Different sectors of the economy in Kaduna state, including those in the civil service, aviation and health sectors joined in the strike. There was however a twist as thugs attacked the protesters on Tuesday the 18th day of May 2021 while they were protesting. The Governor thereafter declared the NLC President and other union officials wanted. However speaking in a short interview at NEPA roundabout Kaduna state while leading thousands of workers, Wabba stated thus, “the strike was not about me. Let him come and arrest me. We are here and waiting for them,”
We must first state that the provisions of the law are to the effect that laid down procedures must be adopted in securing the attendance of persons to court if they are charged. This is so because if the laid down procedures are not followed, such a person can bring an action for fundamental and Human Rights violations. Article 9 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which Nigeria is a signatory provides that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile. This provision is domesticated in section 35 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria and guarantees that the dignity of all Nigerians must be safeguarded against arbitrariness whether of official or non-official origins.
For a person to be declared wanted, first of all, a crime must have first been committed and the person was thought to be evading arrest and had gone under the radar. These two factors must be in place before a person is declared wanted. Also, such declarations usually pre-empt an arrest. Under our extant laws, a person may not be arrested or declared wanted without a warrant duly obtained from a competent court and endorsed by the same source authorizing it.
In BAJOWA v. FRN & ORS(2016) LPELR-40229(CA) the Court of Appeal on the meaning of the phrase “wanted person” stated thus: “The phrase “Wanted Person” is defined as, “A person sought by the Police because the person has escaped from custody or an arrest warrant has been issued for the person’s arrest,” See Black’s Dictionary 8th Ed. Page 1613.” Per JOSEPH EYO EKANEM, JCA (Pp 19 – 19 Paras E – F).
The law demands that before making a Wanted Declaration on a public officer like the NLC President, on a public platform, or any other platform like Twitter, the police ought to obtain a warrant of arrest duly signed and endorsed by a competent court. The said warrant must also be presented at the point of arrest if the said person is finally seen and is to be arrested, it is also pertinent that the reason for issuing the ‘wanted declaration” is spelt out.
It is where a person sought to be arrested makes a run for it or evades arrest, that a declaration informing the public of the accused person’s status may be made. By implication, where such a person declared wanted is seen, the public is to assume that such a person is not just a wanted criminal, but also a potentially dangerous one. The serious implication of such a presumptious act is that it makes any deviation from the above process an abrogation of lawful processes, a clear indicator that the said agency seeks to appropriate to itself powers vested singularly in the courts, it is also a gross disrespect of the accused person’s dignity of self, especially where he or she is neither on the run, in hiding nor aware of the summon, invitation or intended arrest.
Mr. Ayuba Wabba, other workers, and Labour members were only exercising their constitutional right to protest as guaranteed under Under Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which states that every person is entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons.
Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution permits these rights to be restricted in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, or public health, or to protect the rights or freedoms of others.
It is worthy of note that the NLC President and the workers in Kaduna State got the approval of the Nigerian Police who escorted them throughout the peaceful protest. It is however shocking how the leader of a peaceful protest will be declared wanted by the state Governor who lacks the powers to do so as such powers rest solely on the order of a competent court.
We state that it has become pertinent in our democratic dispensation to check the excesses of the executive who now arrogate unto themselves the powers of the judiciary. In a country where there is the separation of powers, due process should be obeyed and the doctrine of checks and balances must not just be in the papers but must transcend into action.
By Davidson Duru.
