- 16 Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides as follows: “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of its liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) also protects this right. Section 35 of the Constitution protects the liberty of persons, and states that such liberty can only be deprived in accordance with a procedure permitted by law. Section 24 of the Nigerian Police Act provides for the powers to arrest without warrant as follows: (1) In addition to the powers of arrest without warrant conferred upon a police officer by Section 10 of the Criminal Procedure Act, it shall be lawful for any police officer and any person whom he may call to his assistance, to arrest without warrant in the following cases (a) any person whom he finds committing any felony, misdemeanor or simple offence, or whom he reasonably suspects of having committed or of being about to commit any felony, misdemeanor or breach of the peace; (b) any person whom any other person charges with having committed a felony or misdemeanor; (c) any person whom any other person (i) suspects of having committed a felony or misdemeanor; or (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any offence with respect to which it is provided that any offender may not be arrested without warrant. Section 10 of the Nigerian Criminal Procedure Act provides: (1). Any police officer may, without an order from a Magistrate and without warrant, arrest: (a). any person whom he suspects upon reasonable grounds of having committed an indictable offence against a federal law or of any other state, unless the written law creating the offence provided that the offender cannot be arrested without a warrant. (b). any person who committed any offence in his presence. Section 7 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) is clear and provides that: “A person shall not be arrested in place of a suspect.”