- 17 7.5. As can be deduced from the above provisions, the watch words for the
validity of any arrest are“lawfulness and reasonableness”.
It follows therefore that powers of arrest must not only be provided for under
the law but the grounds upon which it is exercised must be reasonable,
otherwise it becomes arbitrary.
The word arbitrary has been defined by Bryan Garner in the Black’s Law
Dictionary Ninth Edition as: “(1) depending on individual discretion;
determined by a judge rather than by fixed rules, procedures or law (2) of a
judicial discretion founded on prejudice or preference rather than on reason or
fact.
Arbitrary arrest and detention therefore are the arrest or detention of an
individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that they
committed a crime against legal statute, or which was done without regard to
due process of law.
7.6. As a general rule, the burden of establishing the existence of any facts lies
on he who alleges. However, where the facts are admitted, they need no further
proof.
Ordinarily, the Plaintiff in this case has the burden of presenting evidence to
prove the allegations he has made in his Originating Application. However, the
Defendant has not denied the arrest and detention of the Plaintiff but sets up a
defense of justification. The burden thus shifts from the Plaintiff to the
Defendant to establish the justification of the lawfulness of the arrest and
detention of the Plaintiff.
The defendant contends that the plaintiff’s arrest was necessitated by the
information they gathered that the plaintiff had knowledge of the whereabouts
of the suspect they were looking for. That is their sole justification for the arrest.
The justification given by the defendant for the arrest and detention of the
plaintiff runs contrary to the express provisions of Section 7 of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act, of Nigeria.
From the totality of facts before this court, there is no factual evidence of
reasonable grounds or legal provision upon which the arrest and detention are
based.