Arrest And Search

An arrest is the act of depriving a person of
their liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation or prevention of crime presenting (the arrestee) to a procedure as part of the criminal justice system. The term is Anglo-Norman in origin and is related to the French word arret, meaning “stop”.
When an individual is arrested by the police for having committed an offence it may be necessary for the police to conduct a search of the person, depending on the offence he/she is alleged to have committed. The search is made in order to obtain evidence to be used at the trial of such an offender. Note that searches can be made as regards a person, premises or a thing as the case requires.
In Nigeria a search warrant is not required to search a person-section 6 (1) Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), section 44 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and section 25 of the Police Act empowers a police officer to search any person who is arrested without warrant, whom he reasonably suspects to be in possession of stolen articles, instruments of violence or poisonous substance, tools connected with the kind of offence which he is alleged to have committed or other article which may furnish evidence against him in regard to the offence which he is alleged to have committed.
The test to be used to decide whether the action of a police officer was reasonable in conducting a search of a person is the same test used by the courts to decide whether a reasonable man would have conducted the search of a person in such a circumstance.
Any person arrested and detained in lawful custody maybe subjected to a medical examination where such examination will afford evidence of the commission of the offence. Persons suspected of concealing on their body hand drugs such as cocaine and herion are subject to medical examination in order to retrieve the drugs concealed on the person.
Powers to conduct a search are conferred by statute on other law enforcement agents. For example the Customs and Excise Management Act 1958 empowers officers of the Board of Customs and Excise to search any person reasonably suspected to carrying anything chargeable with duty with intent to evade payment of duty or any person carrying any article, the importation or exportation which is prohibited, provided the person is within a Custom area Sections:78 (1) C.P.A, 78 C.P.C and section 147 Custom and Excise Act provides for search of premises. It is worthy to note that except in limited circumstances a search warrant is required to search premises. This is because as much as possible the law protects the sanctity of a home. It is, however, hoped that as law enforcement officers conduct these searches they would always strive to comply with the law.

Nkechi Bright Ewere