Media Rights Agenda (MRA) on Friday has condemned the reported arrest and detention of Mr. Fisayo Soyombo, founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), by the 6th Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt and called for his immediate and unconditional release.

Describing Mr. Soyombo’s arrest and detention over the last three days as illegal and unconstitutional, MRA called on the Federal Government to put an immediate end to the persistent and widespread abuse of powers by government agencies in disregard of the Constitution and violation of basic principles of the rule of law.

In a statement issued in Lagos, MRA’s Programme Officer, Mr. John Gbadamosi, argued that: “The Nigerian Army lacks the authority to arrest or detain civilians. In any event, it is a clear requirement under the Constitution that anyone who is deprived of his personal liberty upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed a criminal offence, must be charged to court within 24 hours. Both of these fundamental legal guarantees have been violated in the arrest and detention of Mr. Soyombo by the Nigerian Army.”

According to Mr. Gbadamosi, the Nigerian Army has very limited powers of arrest under the Constitution and those powers apply only under very specific conditions related to the mandate and functions of the Army, such as maintaining internal security or supporting civil authorities, for instance, for the purpose of “suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.”

Noting that Soyombo has not been accused or alleged to have engaged in any insurrection, he said “The Nigerian Army Act does not grant the Nigerian Army powers to arrest civilians under ordinary circumstances. Instead, its provisions align with the military’s constitutional role, which is primarily focused on national defense and support to civil authorities. The Army should therefore focus on and expend its strength and resources on these roles.”

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Mr. Gbadamosi specifically referred the Nigerian Army to the decision by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, delivered on February 17, 2021, in a case between Grace Anita Paul and the Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army, and others in which the court ruled that the Nigerian Army lacks the authority to arrest and detain anyone not subject to the Armed Forces Act or any other military law.

The judge also cautioned the military against usurping the powers of the Nigerian Police, as outlined in Sections 4 and 84 of the Police Act, which grants the police the authority to detect and investigate crime.

He insisted that even if Mr. Soyombo has committed any crime warranting his arrest, it is not the duty of the Nigerian Army to carry out the arrest, as they have no authority under the Constitution, the Nigerian Army Act or any other Law to arrest civilians.

Mr. Gbadamosi said: “The action of the Nigerian Army in arresting and detaining a journalist who is not subject to any military law constitutes a gross misuse of power and is deeply concerning. We, therefore, call on President Bola Tinubu, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to restrain the Nigerian Army and other military authorities to desist from this recurring abuse of their powers and disregard for the Constitution and other laws as they continue to portray Nigeria as a lawless society.”

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