In April, 1977, the appellants who were Professional Motor Vehicle Drivers and Supervisors at the Uromi Motor Park had separately sued the two respondents for a sum of N3,000.00 each as special and general damages for their unlawful imprisonment by them for ninety-six (96) hours at the Ubiaja Police Station. The imprisonment was on the pretext that the appellants were lawfully arrested and charged with offences of assault with intent to steal from one Clifford Nwude; and causing obstruction on the public highway along Uromi-Ubiaja by the junction of the new Igueben Road. The 1st respondent was then a Police Corporal who was under the direction and control of the 2nd respondent who was then the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Agbazilo Local Government Ubiaja. The two re¬spondents purportedly refused to grant the appellants police bail after their arrest and purported to have detained them by Remand Warrants signed by a Justice of the Peace. The three suits were later consolidated for trial.

At the trial, evidence was adduced that on Thursday the 17th February 1977, there was an accident involving the appellants and one Clifford Nwude, along Uromi-Ubiaja Road when the said Clifford Nwude, a Professional Driver, was driv-ing a tipper lorry along the road. The appellants were said to have obstructed the road with a taxicab No. MGX 750 as a result of which the said Clifford Nwude reported a case of assault with intent to steal against the appellants at the Police Station Ubiaja. The appellants denied obstructing the road, but said that they took that Taxi cab to Ubiaja to collect the driving licence of the 2nd Appellant which he had earlier sent there for renewal. But it turned out later that the appellants had gone on the road to check on vehicles which had refused to make use of the motor park where they claimed to be supervisors; and that it was in the process of sort¬ing out those whom they regarded as defaulting drivers that they caused the said obstruction on the highway. Consequent upon the report by Clifford Nwude, the appellants were arrested on Friday the 18th February, 1977 for the said offences of attempting to steal and causing obstruction; they were taken to Ubiaja Police Station and detained on Remand Warrants signed by a Justice of the Peace. It was said that that it was because there was no Magistrate available at Ubiaja at the ma¬terial time that the Police got a Justice of the Peace to issue the Remand Warrants - Exhs. D, E & F at his house at about 3.30 p.m. when no court was then in session. However, there was conflicting evidence that the appellants had been detained by about 1.45 p.m. when the 2nd respondent was told by the 1st respondent that there was no magistrate available in town. It appears that the appellants were not given any opportunity of applying for bail before they were detained at the Police Station on a weekend on the Remand Warrants signed by the said Justice of the Peace. The respondents relied on the Remand Warrants as their authority for keeping the appellants in custody.

The trial Judge gave judgment for the appellants on the grounds that the remand warrants were unlawful and void. The respondents appealed to the Court of Appeal which held that the Justice of the Peace was acting judicially when signing the re¬mand warrants and therefore S. 57(1) of the Magistrates' Court Law protected the Respondents. The appellants appealed against this decision to the Supreme Court.