The Supreme Court in Director of SSS & Anor v. Agbakoba (1999) LPELR-954(SC) clearly held that the ownership of an international passport is a corollary of freedom of movement. Freedom of movement itself is a fundamental right protected in Section 41 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The question now is: can freedom of movement be curtailed without an order of court? The Apex Court, in a much later decision in Azuh v. Union Bank (2014) LPELR-22913(SC), held that
“When criminal charges are pending against an accused person, his right to freedom of movement pending the determination of the case may be curtailed by the Court seised of the matter or by a higher court, depending on the nature of the offence.”
The import of this is that there must be an order from a competent court to that effect.
The usual practice of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of seizing the passports and properties of accused persons, even before taking them to court or with no court order at all, is unlawful, oppressive, and downright condemnable.
A person who is a victim of this can enforce his rights before a competent court and get a court order in his favour.
The position of the law is clear. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act has specified that to arrest a person without a warrant issued by a competent court, there must be a reasonable suspicion that the person to be arrested has committed an offence under the law. This is clearly stated in Section 18 of the Act.
A law enforcement agency cannot arrest a person on mere or flimsy suspicion; it must meet that standard of reasonability.
It can thus be inferred that when a complaint is made, before an arrest can be conducted on the accused, the agency must have conducted its investigation and gotten enough evidence to charge the person.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the laws establishing the law enforcement agencies have provided clear guidelines on the process of investigation, arrest, and prosecution of persons they find to have committed certain offences.
An arrest made without a warrant must be on grounds so reasonable that if a warrant were to have been requested, it would have been granted.
It is your duty to ensure that your rights are protected
The courts are there for you, but until you enforce your rights, there’s little to nothing that the courts can do. It is your duty to step forward and challenge the oppressive conduct of law enforcement agencies.
Consult a lawyer, and let your lawyer take the necessary actions by filing a fundamental rights enforcement action against such an agency.
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