LATINO: Arrest Without Warrant: What Law Says

There is this general presumption that for an arrest to be made there has to be a warrant. Another myth is that only the police possesses the power of arrest. But the truth is that this age-long belief does not believe the whole truth about the issue of arrest.

It is correct that the police is empower under our  law to arrest a suspect with a warrant where the offence is a serious one; where a summons is disobeyed: or where the statute creating the office specifically provides that arrest shall be with a warrant.

A warrant is basically an authority in  writing by a court directing a police officer or any other person to arrest a suspect. Note though that in the South, a warrant of arrest can only be obtained after a complaint had been made on oath. In Northern states, a magistrate can lawfully issue a warrant of arrest once the complaint before him discloses an offence without necessarily been on oath.

The Criminal Procedure Act (which is used in the South) in section 22 (1) and 56 (i) provides that only a magistrate or judge may issue a warrant of arrest.

The criminal procedure  Act which is operational in the North includes a Justice of Peace as one of those who can issue a warrant of arrest. It is also imperative for the issuing officer to sign or seal the warrant.

It is compulsory for a warrant of arrest to be in writing bearing the name of the offender, the offence and the date of issue, and an order directing the police officer or any other person executing the  arrest to apprehend the named suspect. Also, it must contain the signature of the issuing officer.

A warrant of arrest, like an ordinary summons may be issued and executed on any day including a Sunday and public holiday. It is note worthy to state that a warrant of arrest remains valid until it is executed or cancelled by a court. Where the suspect named in the warrant has been arrested and released, he cannot be re-arrested on the same warrant.

By section 103 of the Criminal Procedure Act, a warrant of arrest is still valid not withstanding the death, retirement, removal from office, promotion or otherwise loss of jurisdiction by the issuing authority.

In spite of the foregoing police officers, magistrates, judges and private persons may arrest without warrant where they find a person committing an offence  or is suspected of having committed an offence.

The police is conferred with the power to make arrest without Warrants, in section 10 (1) of the criminal procedure Act and section 26 of the police Act.

The police is empowered to arrest without warrant any person whom he suspects upon reasonable grounds of having committed an indictable  offence against a federal or state law. In exercising this power of arrest without warrant, the police must as stated in IGP V Ogbomo (1957) W.R.N.L.R. 200, act in good faith.

Section 15 of the Criminal Procedure Act provides that a judge or a magistrate can arrest a person where he commits an offence in his presence within his judicial division or magisterial district. While in section 16, he can where a person commits an offence in his presence within his judicial division or magisterial district in a circumstance that he could have issued a warrant after a complaint on oath is laid before him. The only difference in the North is that they are not limited to their judicial division or magisterial district.

In the South, for  a private person to arrest without warrant, an indictable offence has been committed in his presence: he reasonably suspects the commission of felony or where a misdemeanor is committed  by night (section 12 of Criminal Procedure Act).

Section 28 of the Criminal Procedure Code empowers private persons to arrest without warrant. He can arrest any person who escapes from lawful custody, or who is required to appear by public summons or who is committing an offence in his presence. A private person in the North can also arrest any person who he is directed to arrest by a justice of peace or a superior police officer.

The position of the law is that we can all make arrests even without warrant so long as it is done within the confines of the law.