Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of a Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, declared unconstitutional the police’s publication of a lawyer, Emmanuel Chinyere Orji (popularly known as N.C. Orji) as a wanted person unconstitutional and set aside the declaration, holding that it was made without any lawful authority.

The court granted all the reliefs sought by the applicant except the monetary claims, which totalled N1 billion in exemplary and general damages.

However the court awarded N500, 000 as cost against the police. The suit was filed by Mr. Edwin Anikwem (SAN), leading Mr. Yinka Muyiwa, on behalf of the applicant, under the fundamental rights enforcement procedure rules.

Orji had asked the court to nullify the publication of his name and photograph in a national newspaper, the Special Police Gazette Bulletin, and on the official website of the Nigeria Police Force, in which he was declared wanted on August 20, 2025.

In a strongly worded judgment, Justice Lewis-Allagoa held that the police acted outside the scope of their constitutional and statutory powers by declaring the applicant wanted without first obtaining an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

The judge agreed with the applicant’s counsel that while the police may have the power to declare individuals wanted in appropriate circumstances, such action must be taken strictly within the ambit of Nigerian law and only upon compliance with all conditions precedent, including securing prior judicial authorisation.

The court held that failing to do so amounted to a violation of Orji’s fundamental rights. Quoting the legal authorities cited by the applicant’s lawyer, the court stated that “the act of declaring the applicant a wanted person on the official website of the police without any prior order or leave of a court of competent jurisdiction, is unconstitutional and constitutes a violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed under Sections 34 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).” Justice Lewis-Allagoa therefore issued declarations affirming the illegality of the publication and set aside the police’s wanted notice.