CONSTITUTIONAL LAW ā Fundamental Rights ā Right to Personal Liberty ā Effect of Partial Suspension of Section 32 of the 1979 Constitution
Principle Statement
Section 32(1) which guarantees every person a right to personal liberty has not been suspended by any written law, Decree or Act of Parliament. The Court of Appeal was in error when it held that section 32 was suspended.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Katsina-Alu, JSC, in Duru & Anor v. Nwangwu & Anor (2006) NLC-123-255-2001(SC) at pp. 5ā6; Paras DāB.
"Section 1(2) of the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree No. 107 states as follows: '(2) the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979 mentioned in the First Schedule to this Decree are hereby suspended.' Section 32 (23) to (7) has been listed as No. 7 in the First Schedule. In spite of the printer's devil in the provision which put the section as 32(23) to (7), the provision as lifted from the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Act Cap. 64 Laws of the Federation 1990 has been set forth as section 32(3-7). Surely, it can be seen clearly that sub-section 1 of section 32 was not suspended. [ā¦] Section 32(1) which guarantees every person a right to personal liberty has not been suspended by any written law, Decree or Act of Parliament. In view of this, I hold that the Court of Appeal was in error when it held that section 32 was suspended."
Explanation / Scope
Only subsections 3-7 of section 32 were suspended; subsection 1 guaranteeing personal liberty remained intact. The principle applies to constitutional law.
