“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened” John F. Kennedy

The court is the last resort of common man, and once again the sanctity of civil rights has been sustained withthe judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja delivered on the 4th May, 2020 In a 16 page ruling, involving one Issa Brimah (a Nigerian activist in diaspora) and the Nigerian Army, (Defendant who declared Brimah wanted for reportedly raising funds for troops and vigilantes fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the north-east)

The Court ruled that the Nigerian army has no powers to declare any citizen wanted, and thus the arrest procedure exercised on the Plaintiff was wrong. As seen in pages 15 and 16 of the ruling Court, per Justice Ijeoma L. Ojukwu

“However, it must be stated here without equivocation that the defendant (Nigeria Army) has no right to declare the Plaintiff (Dr. Perry Brimah) wanted without following the appropriate procedure. The Defendant (Nigeria Army) cannot arrest the Plaintiff (Dr. Brimah) arbitrarily without making a formal report to law enforcement agency with the mandate to enforce law and order, otherwise it would transmute to self-help. The duty of the defendant is to make a formal report to the appropriate authority like the police and await the outcome.”

The principle of law is not new to the Human Rights Standards, as it comes right in time in accordance to the International standard of protection amidst other human right standard of protection inclusive of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials etc. The Federal High Court judgment is just an excerpt of the human right law.

WRITING BY: ADEDAMOLA OLADAPO ESQ