Buba Marwa, the chairman National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has warned against the detention of suspects beyond the limit allowed by law.
He prohibited the arrest of a relation, spouse or acquaintance of a suspected drug offender, often referred to as hostage arrest.
The warning was contained in the reviewed operations and investigations guidelines to all commands.
Marwa stressed the need to adhere strictly to constitutional provisions regarding arrest and detention of suspects.
The chairman said arrangements must be made for the filing of charges in court within 24 or 48 hours as may be applicable.
“Where this is not possible, a detention order must be procured from the Federal High Court for the continuous detention of an arrested person”, he directed.
“Investigations in all cases must be concluded not later than one week. In all cases of raid operations, all non-culpable suspects must be separated from those culpable and released immediately.”
Marwa demanded that all prosecutors must ensure prompt filing of charges in courts and pursue timely arraignment of suspects.
He said in the course of arrest and search, respect the dignity of the human person of the suspect.
“A suspect shall not in any way be ill-treated. leg chains and handcuffs may only be used where the person is violent and/or resistant, such that reasonable force is required to restrain him/her”, Marwa added.
Source: Daily Post
