th office, on 28 December 1997, and detained incommunicado at a military facility in Lagos until he was moved to Jos, where his trial took place. 41. This, it is contended, is in contravention of Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The said article provides inter alia: Every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for the reasons and conditions previously laid down by law. In particular, no one may be arbitrarily arrested and detained. th 42. Further to this, the Complainant alleges that until 14 February 1998 (that is, about two months after his arrest) when he was arraigned before a Special Military Tribunal for his alleged involvement in a coup, Mr Malaolu was neither informed of the reasons for his arrest nor of any charges against him. 43. In its Resolution on the Right to Recourse Procedure and Fair Trial, the Commission had, in expounding on the guarantees of the right to fair trial under the Charter observed thus: … the right to fair trial includes, among other things, the following: (b) Persons who are arrested shall be informed at the time of arrest, in a language which they understand of the reason for their arrest and shall be informed promptly of any charges against them; 44. The failure and/or negligence of the security agents who arrested the convicted person to comply with these requirements is therefore a violation of the right to fair trial as guaranteed under Article 7 of the Charter. 45. The Complainant alleges a violation of Article 7(1)(a) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which states: Every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard. This comprises: (a) The right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts violating his fundamental rights as recognised and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force; 46. The Complainant contends that the decision of the tribunal that tried and convicted Malaolu is not subject to appeal, but to confirmation by the Provisional Ruling Council, the composition of which is clearly partisan. Non-compliance of the competent authorities of Nigeria to this requirement is in breach of the provision of Article 7(1) (a) of the Charter. 47. The Complainant alleges a violation of Article 7(1)(b) of the Charter which provides that: Every individual shall have …the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court or tribunal. The Complainant alleges in this respect that prior to the setting up of the tribunal, the military Government of Nigeria organised intense pre-trial publicity to persuade members of the public that a coup plot had occurred and that those arrested in connection with it were guilty of treason. In this regard, it alleges further, any possible claim to national security in excluding members of the public and the press from the actual trial by the tribunal cannot be justified, and therefore in breach of the right to fair trial, particularly, the right to presumption of innocence. 48. The government has not contested the veracity of the complainant's submissions. In this circumstance, the Commission is obliged to accept this as the facts of the case and therefore finds the Government of Nigeria in violation of Article 7(1)(b) of the Charter. 49. The Complainant alleges that the exclusion of members of the public and the press from the actual trial by the tribunal was not justified, and therefore in breach of the right to fair trial. 50. The government argues that the right to fair hearing in public was subject to the proviso that the court or tribunal might exclude from the proceedings persons other than the parties thereto in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, etc. 51. Neither the African Charter nor the Commission's Resolution on the Right to Recourse and Fair Trial contain any express provision for the right to public trial. That notwithstanding, the Commission is empowered by Articles 60 and 61 of the Charter to draw inspiration from international law on human and peoples' rights and to take into consideration as subsidiary measures other general or special international conventions, customs generally accepted as law, general principles of law recognised by African states as well as legal precedents and doctrine. Invoking these provisions, the Commission calls in aid General Comment 13 of the UN Human Rights Committee on the right to fair trial. Paragraph 6 of the said Comment states: