CRIMINAL PROCEDURE — Arrest — Breaking Open Doors — Reasonable Force Under Section 7(1) and (2) of the Criminal Procedure Law
Principle Statement
The provisions of the CPL permit the Police to break the outer door or inner door or window of a place in order to effect entry into such a place in which the police has reason to believe that the person sought to be arrested has entered. However, the act of the Appellant who had already secured ingress into the apartment before shooting into the bedroom with a lethal weapon cannot reasonably be described as seeking entrance under those provisions.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Onu, JSC, in Ibikunle v. State (2007) NLC-123-220-2005(SC) at pp. 9–10; Paras A–B.
"The provisions of the CPL permit the Police to break the outer door or inner door or window of a place in order to effect entry into such a place in which the police has reason to believe that the person sought to be arrested has entered... I reject the submission that the act of the Appellant who had already secured ingress into the apartment of the deceased before shooting into the deceased's bedroom with a lethal weapon, can reasonably be described as seeking entrance under the provisions of section 7(1) and (2) of the C.P.L."
Explanation / Scope
Section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Law authorizes police officers to break open doors or windows to gain entry to premises where they have reasonable grounds to believe a suspect is hiding. This power is exercisable only for the purpose of effecting entry—not for conducting an assault or executing a suspect after entry has been secured. Once the officer has lawfully entered the premises, the authority to break doors ceases. Any subsequent use of deadly force must be justified by self-defence or other lawful grounds. An officer who gains entry and then shoots through an internal door into a bedroom—where the suspect is not posing an immediate threat—is acting beyond the scope of the statutory authority and is liable for murder. The law does not permit the use of lethal force once the purpose of entry has been achieved.
