Court Declares ‘Wanted Notice’ on Lawyer Illegal, Sets Aside Publication

Wale Igbintade

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday, declared unconstitutional the Police’s publication of a lawyer, Emmanuel Chinyere Orji (popularly known as N.C. Orji) as a wanted person and set aside the declaration, holding that it was made without any lawful authority.

The court granted all the reliefs sought by the applicant except the monetary claims, which totalled N1 billion in exemplary and general damages.

The suit was filed by the applicant’s counsel, Edwin Anikwem, SAN, leading Yinka Muyiwa, under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.

Orji had asked the court to nullify the publication of his name and photograph in The Nation newspaper, the Special Police Gazette Bulletin, and on the official website of the Nigeria Police Force, in which he was declared wanted on August 20, 2025.

In a strongly worded judgement, Justice Lewis-Allagoa held that the Police acted outside the scope of their constitutional and statutory powers by declaring the applicant wanted without first obtaining an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

The judge agreed with the applicant’s counsel that while the Police may have the power to declare individuals wanted in appropriate circumstances, such action must be taken strictly within the ambit of Nigerian law and only upon compliance with all conditions precedent, including securing prior judicial authorisation.

The court held that failing to do so amounted to a violation of Orji’s fundamental rights.

Quoting the legal authorities cited by the applicant’s counsel, the court stated that “the act of declaring the Applicant a wanted person on the official website of the Police without any prior order or leave of a court of competent jurisdiction, first had and obtained, is unconstitutional and constitutes a violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed under Sections 34 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”

Justice Lewis-Allagoa therefore issued declarations affirming the illegality of the publication and set aside the Police’s wanted notice.

The court further ordered the Inspector General of Police to retract and quash the publication and directed that an apology be issued to the applicant.

However, the monetary reliefs—two separate claims for N500 million each as exemplary and general damages were refused.

During the proceedings, Anikwem, SAN, argued that the Police acted precipitously and unlawfully in issuing the wanted declaration.

He submitted that no court order existed authorising the publication and that the action exposed the applicant, a legal practitioner of over 20 years, to reputational harm, stigma, and the risk of unlawful arrest.

He emphasised that the publication portrayed the applicant as a fugitive and had gone viral globally, causing severe personal and professional damage.

The court agreed with the broader thrust of the submissions, noting that the Police could not circumvent constitutional safeguards under the guise of investigative powers.