By P.L. Osakwe
In theory, the Nigerian Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to remain silent when arrested. In reality, silence can get you tortured. Or worse — killed.
Section 35(2) of the 1999 Constitution provides that “any person who is arrested or detained shall have the right to remain silent or avoid answering any question until after consultation with a legal practitioner.” It's a safeguard rooted in the presumption of innocence. But on Nigerian streets, in police stations, and at SARS units, this right is regularly ignored.
Instead of upholding the rule of law, many police officers treat silence as provocation. Citizens who refuse to “cooperate” are branded as suspects. Beatings follow. Forced confessions are extracted. Phone passwords are demanded. And all of this happens without legal representation.
The damage is immense. Innocent people are framed. Confessions made under duress are used in court. The justice system is corrupted from the start.
■ Why does this abuse continue?
● Because the law is not enforced.
● Because police oversight is weak.
● Because many Nigerians do not even know their rights.
● Because silence, in a broken system, is treated as guilt.
● But silence is not guilt. It is a constitutional shield. It is a cry for fairness. It is a refusal to be manipulated.
We must demand better. Every citizen must know their rights. Every officer must be trained to respect them. And every violation must be punished — personally, not institutionally. Until then, the right to remain silent will remain a silent right — spoken only in the Constitution, never on the street.
