Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has declared the police’s declaration of a lawyer, Emmanuel Orji (popularly known as N.C. Orji) wanted as unconstitutional.

The court set aside the publication, ruling that it was made without lawful authority or an order of the court.

All the reliefs sought by the applicant were granted, except for the monetary claims, totalling N1 billion in exemplary and general damages.

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

Orji had requested the court to nullify the publication of his name and photograph in a national newspaper, the Special Police Gazette Bulletin and on the official website of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), where he was declared wanted on August 20, 2025.

In the judgment delivered last Friday, Justice Lewis-Allagoa held that the police acted beyond its constitutional and statutory powers by declaring the applicant wanted without obtaining an order of a court first.

The judge agreed with the applicant’s counsel that while the police might have the power to declare individuals wanted in appropriate circumstances, such actions must strictly adhere to the Nigerian law and only after securing prior judicial authorisation.

Failing to do so violated Orji’s fundamental rights.

Quoting 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 heard 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 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”

Justice Lewis-Allagoa 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 (IGP) 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 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, which had gone viral, portrayed the applicant as a fugitive, 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.

The judgment reaffirmed that security agencies must act within the rule of law and that the power to declare a citizen wanted is not absolute but subject to judicial oversight.