K. ESO, JSC (Delivering the leading Judgment): This appeal arose as a result of the incident that followed the unfortunate fire inferno which took place in "NECOM HOUSE" building in Lagos. The fire fiercely gulped the tall sky-scraper on 24th January 1983. Two people died, but over 600 other lives were saved. The Appellant, who was a fireman, was there with his men, for so he said, to put off the fire. They eventually succeeded after a grueling grind. In any event, the Appellant claimed he put out the fire, while the Respondents denied that he performed the feat. That however was not the gravamen of the trouble to come.
On 31st January, 1983, a week after the fire incident, the Appellant, with nineteen others, was arrested and charged with the murder of the two men that died. Two weeks after he was charged with the murder, the Appellant, precisely on 16th February 1983, brought an application before the High Court, under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, to have th…