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Police & Arrest Rights

Detained Beyond 24 Hours Without Charge or Court Appearance

Understanding the constitutional time limit on police detention

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The Situation

What They Said

“We're still investigating. You'll stay here until we finish. It could be a few more days.”
You have been held in a police cell overnight and the following morning an officer casually informs you that your detention will be extended indefinitely while the police complete their investigation. This is one of the most widespread abuses in Nigerian policing. The National Human Rights Commission and civil society groups have consistently documented cases of people held for days, weeks, or even months without being charged or brought before a magistrate — often because they cannot pay unofficial bail fees or because officers exploit their ignorance of detention time limits. The psychological and economic toll on detainees and their families is severe, and the practice is unambiguously unconstitutional.
The Fallacy

Investigative Convenience Justifies Indefinite Detention

The officer is presenting an ongoing investigation as a legitimate reason to hold a person indefinitely. This conflates the police's operational need to investigate with a legal right to detain — the two are not the same. The Constitution does not say 'you may be detained until the police are satisfied.' It sets a hard time limit after which detention becomes unlawful regardless of whether the investigation is complete. The police's internal workload or scheduling cannot override a constitutional right. If the investigation requires more time, the law provides a mechanism: charge the person and seek a remand from a magistrate. What the law does not permit is using the cell as a waiting room at the officer's convenience.

What the Law Says

Your Legal Foundation

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)
Section 35(4) — Maximum Period of Pre-Charge Detention
“Any person who is arrested or detained in accordance with subsection (1)(c) of this section shall be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time, and if he is not tried within a period of — (a) one day where a court of competent jurisdiction is within forty kilometres; or (b) two days or such longer period as in the circumstances may be considered by the court to be reasonable, in any other case; he shall be released either unconditionally or upon such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears for trial at a later date.”
This section establishes the constitutional ceiling on pre-charge police detention. In the vast majority of Nigerian urban centres, where a magistrate court is within 40 kilometres, the limit is one day — 24 hours. Detention beyond this period without a charge or a court order is a fundamental violation of liberty, not a procedural irregularity. Each additional hour of unlawful detention is a continuing constitutional violation.
Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015
Section 293 and Section 294 — Police Bail and Release from Custody
“Section 293: A suspect arrested for a non-capital offence shall be released on bail by the officer-in-charge of the police station at any time while the suspect is in custody. Section 294: Where a suspect is not released on bail under section 293, the officer in charge shall as soon as practicable bring the suspect before a Magistrate Court.”
These sections make police bail a right, not a privilege. For bailable offences — which include most everyday matters — the officer-in-charge has a duty to grant bail. The phrase 'still investigating' is not a lawful basis for denying that right. If the officer-in-charge refuses bail, they are personally in breach of a statutory duty, and the detainee must be brought before a magistrate without delay.
What Scripture Says

God's Word on This

Isaiah 61:1 (NIV)
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
This verse speaks directly to the condition of a person held without lawful reason — confined not by justice but by the failure of those with power to honour their obligations. The principle of freedom as a default state, with imprisonment as the exception requiring justification, is embedded in both this scripture and in constitutional law. No person should be held in a cell simply because it is convenient for those doing the holding.
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