62. On the right to be promptly informed of the charges at the time of arrest.
Article 9 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides:
“Everyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of
the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges
against him.
The Human Rights Committee in its General Comment 35 on Article 9 of the
ICCPR (Liberty and Security of Person), has recognized that not only must the
deprivation of liberty be in accordance with laid down laws, but must also be
accompanied with procedural safeguards to ensure that such deprivation is not
arbitrary. One of these procedural safeguards is that an arrested person must
immediately be informed at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and
charges against him. See African Court decision in Application No 005/2013 Alex
Thomas v United Republic of Tanzania
63. In the instant case, The Applicant states that at the time of his arrest, he was not
informed of the nature and reasons for his arrest before he was detained. It is
curious that the Applicant who is a military man and who reported the loss of
the rifle allocated to him pursuant to which, he was arrested can deny knowledge
of the reason for his arrest. In light of this consideration, the Court finds that
this allegation is unfounded and it is therefore dismissed.
64. On the alleged violation of the right to work
The Applicant alleges that the Respondent State violated his right to work because
of his irregular and unlawful dismissal from the Nigerian Army. He claims that
after he had served his prison sentence and was released, he was not reinstated to
his position at the Nigerian Army, despite several letters demanding his
reinstatement, written by his counsel to the authorities of the Nigerian Army.
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