Sophia Michaels
Chief Judge Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik of Niger State has issued an arrest warrant for a police prosecutor from the Magistrate Court in Izom, Gurara local government of the state. This arrest order was given due to the unlawful imprisonment of suspect Suleiman Musa. Upon investigation, it was found that the First Information Report (FIR) on which Musa was being kept was not signed by the presiding Magistrate. The Magistrate stated that she had never seen the accused nor the FIR, and that she had not signed it.
Inspector Mohammed of the Magistrate Court was asked to explain how the issue was handled that led to Musa’s incarceration for two months at the Suleja Correctional Centre, but he could not offer a satisfactory explanation on the FIR, saying that he could not identify the signature of the presiding magistrate. This complicated his offence.
Justice Abdulmalik expressed her concern over the development, describing it as an infringement on the fundamental rights of individuals. She ordered the arrest of the police prosecutor and directed the second in command of the Police Legal Department, Abdullahi Maiyaki, to immediately redeploy him from court appearances.
Musa explained that he was arrested alongside some friends by the police two months ago and detained in the correctional centre without being arraigned in court, while his friends were taken to court and granted bail.
