Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the Nigeria Police Force over the manner in which officers handled the questioning of the father of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the acclaimed Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
Falana, who is representing Adeyemi, said there was no legal justification for taking the elderly man to a police station during the course of investigations.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, the senior lawyer maintained that the police could have obtained any necessary information from Adeyemi’s father at his residence instead of taking him away for questioning.
According to Falana, the reported arrest or detention of the elderly man could not be justified under Nigerian law.
“The reported arrest of Mr. Adeyemi’s father cannot be justified under the Constitution, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, and under the Nigeria Police Act,” he said.
The legal practitioner, however, disclosed that police authorities later contacted him to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident.
He explained that officers informed him the elderly man had not been formally arrested but was merely invited to assist investigators with information relating to the ongoing investigation.
“I got a call from the police officers in Abuja this evening, where I was informed that the old man wasn’t really arrested. The police merely invited him to take them to a particular place as part of their investigation, and that he was asked to make a statement,” Falana stated.
He further revealed that the statement obtained from Adeyemi’s father was not recorded under caution, indicating that he was not being treated as a criminal suspect.
According to Falana, after the statement was taken, both the elderly man and another family member who had accompanied him were allowed to return home.
“He made a statement, not under caution, and after his statement was taken, and the family member who was arrested along with him, he was allowed to go home,” he added.
Despite the clarification from the police, Falana insisted that the procedure adopted by officers was inappropriate.
He argued that investigators should have visited the elderly man at his residence if they required his cooperation rather than taking him to a police station.
“Whichever way it is, if the police officers involved had wanted the father of Mr. Adeyemi to assist them in their investigation, they should have taken his statement in his house and not in a police station. I do hope that this will not repeat itself,” Falana said.
Earlier reports had indicated that police officers arrived at the Adeyemi family residence in search of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi but, after failing to locate him, reportedly took his father into custody.
The elderly man was later released after spending several hours with investigators.
A neighbour, who requested anonymity following the development, said the police questioned Adeyemi’s father extensively regarding his son’s whereabouts before releasing him.
According to the resident, officers also copied contact information stored on the elderly man’s mobile phone during the exercise.
“Baba has been released. He was questioned about his son’s whereabouts, and the police also copied the contacts on his phone. We don’t know what they intend to use them for,” the neighbour said.
Residents of the area had earlier disclosed that several police vehicles arrived at the family home, with officers reportedly taking the elderly man away after failing to locate his son.
Some residents also alleged that security operatives prevented neighbours from interfering during the operation and remained around the vicinity for some time after leaving the residence.
The incident has generated concerns among observers over the methods employed by law enforcement agencies during criminal investigations, particularly when family members of suspects are involved.
