Police Right of Audience in Nigerian Courts: Olusemo v. The Commissioner of Police Revisited

Abstract

Introduction

The case to be considered touches upon an aspect of prosecution of criminal cases which has not apparently been considered an issue until recently. In this article, it is proposed to consider the statutory right of the Nigerian Police Force to undertake public prosecution vis-a-vis the constitutional powers of the Attorney-General. In practice, the Police do not have access to the superior courts. They have always been content with appearing in the inferior courts for prosecution of minor offences. In these courts, proceedings are by summary procedure rather than the ordinary court process which could only be appreciated by one who has a firm grasp of the law like the Legal Practitioner, this makes it more technical and herculean for the layman. However, the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the contentious case of Olusemo v. the Commissioner of Police² seems to have revolutionised the position of the law, tilting the scale, therefore, in favour of the police as an agency of public prosecution. It is proposed, therefore, to consider the validity of this decision in line with current realities. The law as laid down by the Court of Appeal in this case seems bedevilled by a lot of practical constraints. In order not to distort the growth of our jurisprudence, areas of law which are recondite have to be properly delineated and addressed.