CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ā Fundamental Rights ā Right to Personal Liberty ā Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution ā Qualified Right
Principle Statement
The right to personal liberty guaranteed under Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution is not absolute. It is a qualified right that can be lawfully curtailed in circumstances prescribed by the Constitution itself, including detention upon reasonable suspicion of having committed a felony or to prevent the commission of further offences.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Muhammad, JSC, in Dokubo-Asari v. FRN (2007) NLC-123-208-2006(SC) at pp. 27ā28; Paras CāE. View Source
"The above provisions of section 35 of the Constitution leave no one in doubt that the section is not absolute. Personal liberty of an individual within the contemplation of section 35(1) of the Constitution is a qualified right in the context of this particular case and by virtue of subsection (1)(c) thereof which permits restriction on individual liberty in the course of judicial inquiry or where, rightly as in this case, the appellant was arrested and put under detention upon reasonable suspicion of having committed a felony. A person's liberty, as in this case, can also be curtailed in order to prevent him from committing further offence(s)."
Explanation / Scope
The right to liberty is the most fundamental of human rights, but it is not without limits. Section 35(1) itself provides exhaustive exceptions, such as lawful arrest, detention for court proceedings, or reasonable suspicion of a crime. The courts balance individual liberty against societal interest. In cases involving serious crimes or threats to public order, the State’s power to restrict liberty is recognized. The principle applies to pre-trial and post-conviction detentions, ensuring that any restriction is lawful, not arbitrary, and falls within the constitutional exceptions.
