The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), and other Senior Advocates of Nigeria have faulted the arrest of the father of the phantom Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Director General, Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, saying Nigerian law does not permit the arrest of relatives merely to compel a suspect to surrender or assist investigators.
According to the senior lawyers, the arrest would be lawful if Adeyemi’s father was himself a suspect or a person of interest in the investigation.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that police arrested Adeyemi’s father at his 3, Adeniyi Dynasty Ogbomoso, behind Technical College, Road Safety Area, Ogbomoso, in Oyo State, on Monday, in connection with the investigation into the alleged N1.3bn “ghost agency” scandal involving the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, which has piled fresh pressure on the Presidency following revelations that the council appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite earlier being disowned by the Federal Government.
Other senior lawyers also maintained that if the suspect’s father is implicated in the alleged offence or is a person of interest in the investigation, the police would be acting within the law by arresting him.
Their reactions followed reports that the Nigeria Police Force arrested Adeyemi’s father in Ibadan on Monday amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged N1.3bn “ghost agency” scandal.
Osigwe, accused the police of rushing to conclusions because of the circumstances surrounding the arrest remain unclear.
He said, “I’m careful about saying such things because I don’t know why his father was arrested,” emphasizing that the law does not permit the arrest of one person in place of another.
“If a person is arrested for the purpose of putting pressure on a suspect who cannot be found, or to compel a person who is being investigated to surrender, then it is unlawful.”
Osigwe, said it would have been different if the father was arrested in his own right, adding that “but if the person is being arrested in the person’s own right as a suspect or a person of interest in any investigation, then the law would permit that.”
Speaking, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Sam Erugo, described as unlawful the arrest of the father for an offence allegedly committed by his son under the Nigerian law.
“It is unlawful to arrest a father for an offence allegedly committed by the son,” Erugo said.
Quoting Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, he said it expressly prohibits arrest by proxy or in lieu, adding that “The Nigerian public deserves more information from the arresting authority,” he added.
Erugo demanded the police to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrest.
Reacting to the arrest, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Isiaka Olagunju, explained that criminal responsibility is personal and cannot be transferred to relatives.
“It is unlawful to arrest a suspect’s father or relatives in a criminal case,” Olagunju said.
He, however, said law enforcement authorities may lawfully arrest a relative if there is evidence linking that person to the alleged offence.
“Except if the father is also involved in the case, then the police can arrest him,” he said.
Similarly, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wolemi Esan, said the practice of “arrest in lieu” was having no place in Nigeria’s legal system.
He said Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and Section 20 of the Nigeria Police Act, 2020, forbid the arrest or detention of any person as a substitute for a suspect.
“Arrest in lieu has no place in Nigeria’s legal system,” Esan said.
“The Supreme Court has consistently denounced the practice as unconstitutional and a clear violation of the fundamental rights of those unlawfully arrested.”
He further cited Section 35(6) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees redress for victims of unlawful arrest or detention.
“Any law enforcement agency that engages in arrest in lieu acts in defiance of both statutory and constitutional safeguards,” he added.
