A CRITICAL APPRISAL OF POLICE POWER TO PROSECUTE IN NIGERIA

The issues surrounding the power of the Nigeria Police Force to prosecute offenders alleged to have committed crimes has been greeted with a lot of heated contestations. Basically, under the repealed Police Act 2004, a police officer (whether being a lawyer or not) was empowered to prosecute an offender in any court in Nigeria whether the complaint was laid in his name or not. This position had also been judicially affirmed in the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Osahon where the Supreme Court held inter alia that a police officer (irrespective of being a lawyer) can prosecute criminal cases in all Nigerian courts. Despite clear statutory provisions and detailed judicial decisions on the police power of prosecution, controversy still existed about the nature and extent of that power. The controversy as to whether police officers who were not qualified lawyers should be allowed to prosecute criminal cases. It was however settled that the police officers who are qualified lawyers are qualified to prosecute criminal cases, subject only to the powers of the Attorney General. The enactment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 intensified this controversy with its provision that appeared to exclude police officers. Also, under the extant police Act 2020, the position taken by the legislature on the repealed Police Act 2004 and the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Osahon has been altered. S.66(1) provided that before a police officer can competently prosecute he/she must be a lawyer. However, in subsection 2, the law also permitted police officers who are not lawyers to also prosecute offences which non-lawyers can prosecute. This invariably contradicts the position of the former paragraph. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Police Act also seem to be conflicting on their respective provisions for the police power of prosecution. This research work aims to examine the prosecutorial power of the police using the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Osahon as a standpoint. It also takes into account the relevant provisions of Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the recently enacted Police Act 2020 looking at the implications and effectiveness of these laws. This would be done by utilizing the doctrinal and analytical methods. In conclusion, this research work looks at the seemingly controversy prosecutorial power of the police from history down to recent times accentuating the differences. It submitted that the position in Osahon’s case is no longer good law and can be validly challenged on the strength of the newly enacted Police Act, 2020. It further identifies the problems in police prosecutorial powers and offers recommendations towards ensuring that the power is exercised efficiently and effectively in the overall interest of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.