Public Officers Nigeria

An Essay on Public Officers Protection Act in Nigeria by F. N. Ibekwe-Allagoa
Who is a public officer?
A public officer as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is a person who has been legally elected or appointed to office and who exercises governmental functions.
Is there a difference between a public officer and a civil servant in Nigeria?
A civil servant in Nigeria is an employee of any of the three tiers of government in Nigeria or its agencies other than the military.
In Nigeria, the Supreme Court has made it clear that a public officer not only includes the individual (public officer) but also includes the office itself (the public office). This was stated in Ibrahim V. Judicial Service Committee Kaduna State & Anor. (1998) 14 NWLR (Pt. 584) 1. What this also means is that an artificial body or public department is now a public officer as long as they are sued for an act done in the execution of their public duties. i.e. public officers and public offices have no distinction between them.
With this it is clear that the distinction between the civil servant and public officer is that while the civil servant is restricted to only natural persons (humans) , the public officer is not only a natural person but also an artificial person (offices, departments etc.).
The public officer is protected by the Public Officers Protection Act. The Public Officers Protection Law is one of the statutes of limitation in Nigeria. It prohibits the institution of court actions against a public officer after a period of three (3) months (This is by virtue of Section 2 of the Public Officers Protection Law).
It is a settled law that the complainant or plaintiff must bring the action against the public officer for an act done pursuant to any public duty within three (3) months following the act complained of.
This protection which has been guaranteed by the Supreme Court is not a full protection to Public Officers. There are exceptions to the protection offered to public officers. These are;
Cases of recovery of land
Claims for work & labour done
Good faith
Breaches of contract
Cases of continuance of damage or injury
Actions not within the statuary or constitutional provision of the public officer
Cases Of Recovery Of Land: - In respect of recovery of land, public officers are not protected under the law. The Supreme Court has emphasized this in Attorney General Rivers State v. Attorney General Bayelsa State & anor (2013) 3 NWLR (Pt. 1340) 123 .
Claims for Work & Labour done: - The law does not protect public officers who are sued over claims for work & labour done. FGN v. Zebra Energy Ltd (2002) 18 NWLR (Pt. 798) 162 is a Supreme Court decision to support this exception.
Good Faith: - Public officers who do not act in good faith will not be exempted from the protection guaranteed by the law. Inspector General of Police V. Olatunji 21 NLR 52.
Breaches of Contract: - Where there is a breach of contract, the public officer is not protected from being sued. Bureau Of Public Enterprises V. Reinsurance Acquisition Group Ltd. & anor (2008) LPELR-CA/A/195/M/05.
Cases of Continuance of Damage or Injury: the law permits the institution of legal action outside the three (3) MONTHS period where the action, damage or injury is a continuous one.
Actions not within the statuary or constitutional provision of the public officer: - when a public officer carries out an act which does not fall within the statutory provision of the public office then the law will not avail such officer. Nwankwere v. Adewunmi (1967) NWLR 45 at 49 .
It is important to note that these exceptions are for civil cases. Where the public officer is involved in a crime then such public officer is not protected from the law. However, there is an exception to this, The President, Vice President, Governor And Deputy Governor are public officers who are exempted from criminal trials while holding such positions this is otherwise called the immunity.
Conclusion
The public officers protection law was created to protect public officers from frivolous or flippant court actions. However there are exceptions which I have pointed out above.
References
Merriam-Webster online dictionary
Akintunde Esan's legal illuminations: the exceptions to public officers.




1