The arrest of a lawyer for writing a letter on behalf of his client has sparked concerns over the independence of legal practitioners and the growing use of police powers against members of the Bar carrying out their professional duties.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Branch (Unity Bar), has condemned what it described as the illegal arrest and detention of one of its members, Simon Aromosele, Esq., by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit (IGPMU), Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The Branch also demanded his immediate release and compensation for what it called an unlawful deprivation of his liberty.
According to the NBA, Aromosele was arrested in connection with a letter he wrote to OPay on behalf of a client, requesting either the removal of a restriction placed on the client’s bank account or the production of the court order authorising the restriction.
The association said the Investigating Police Officer, DSP Gambo Adamu, confirmed during discussions with NBA officials that the letter was the sole basis for the lawyer’s arrest and detention.
The development immediately triggered the Unity Bar’s emergency response mechanism.
Following a distress call from Aromosele, the Branch deployed its Publicity Secretary, Michael Obinna Ochili, Esq., to the IGP Monitoring Unit, where he commenced engagements with the investigating team. As the intervention stretched into the evening, the Branch Secretary, Eudorah Ezeonye, alongside Vincent Adodo and Mojirayo Ogunlana, joined the discussions with senior police officers.
After hours of negotiations, Aromosele was released on self-recognisance bail at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday.
Despite his release, the NBA Abuja Branch insisted that the circumstances of the arrest amount to an attack on the legal profession.
“The Branch strongly condemns this incident, which is one in a series of illegal arrests and detention of its members,” the association said in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Michael Obinna Ochili.
It further demanded that the police compensate Aromosele for what it described as his unlawful arrest and detention.
A Test of Lawyers’ Independence
The incident has revived longstanding concerns within the legal profession over the criminalisation of routine legal representation.
Senior lawyers have repeatedly warned that summoning, arresting or detaining counsel for actions undertaken in the legitimate discharge of their professional duties undermines the constitutional right of citizens to legal representation and weakens confidence in the justice system.
The NBA Abuja Branch echoed those concerns, stressing that lawyers must be free to represent clients without fear of intimidation or retaliation.
“The independence and safety of legal practitioners are essential to the administration of justice and the rule of law. No lawyer should be made to choose between faithfully representing a client and protecting himself from arrest or intimidation,” the Branch stated.
In recent years, the Nigerian Bar Association has increasingly intervened in cases involving the arrest, harassment or intimidation of lawyers by law enforcement agencies, maintaining that while lawyers are not above the law, they cannot be criminalised for carrying out legitimate professional duties on behalf of clients.
For many within the legal community, the circumstances surrounding Aromosele’s arrest raise a fundamental question: whether a lawyer can safely discharge his professional obligations if routine correspondence written in the course of legal representation becomes a basis for police detention.
The NBA Abuja Branch said it would continue to pursue all lawful and institutional measures to protect the dignity, independence and professional freedom of legal practitioners.
