The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, has warned personnel against the detention of suspects beyond the limit allowed by law.
Mr Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
According the statement, Marwa also warned against arrest of a relation, spouse or acquaintance of a suspected drug offender, often referred to as hostage arrest.
He said the order had become imperative given the need to adhere strictly to constitutional provisions regarding arrest and detention of suspects.
‘To avoid a breach of the operations guidelines, arrangements must be made for the filing of charges in court within 24 or 48 hours as may be applicable.
“Where this is not possible, a detention order must be procured from the Federal High Court for the continuous detention of an arrested person,” he said.
It further quoted Marwa as directing that investigations in all cases should be concluded not later than one week, adding that in all cases of raid operations, all non-culpable suspects should be separated from those culpable and released immediately.
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