Section 8: Power of magistrate to issue provisional warrant.

(1) A provisional warrant for the arrest of a fugitive criminal, whether accused of or unlawfully at large after conviction of an extradition offence, may be issued by a magistrate without any order of the Attorney-General under section 6 of this Act, if such information and evidence is produced as would in the opinion of the magistrate, justify the issue of a warrant for the arrest of the fugitive, if the offence in question had been committed in the district or division in which he has jurisdiction or the fugitive had been convicted of the offence there.
(2) A provisional warrant may be issued under this section in respect of a person who is, or is suspected of being, on his way to Nigeria, in any case where such a warrant could be issued if he were, or were suspected to be, in Nigeria; and references in this section to a fugitive criminal shall be construed accordingly.
(3) A magistrate issuing a provisional warrant under this section shall forthwith send to the Attorney-General a report of the fact, together with the information and evidence on which he acted or certified copies thereof, and on receipt of the report the Attorney-General may, if he thinks fit, order the warrant to be cancelled and the fugitive criminal, if already arrested, to be released.
(4) A provisional warrant issued under this section may be executed anywhere in Nigeria.
(5) A fugitive criminal arrested on a provisional warrant issued under this section shall be brought before a magistrate as soon as is practicable after he is so arrested, and the magistrate-
(a) shall remand him, either in custody or on bail, pending receipt from the Attorney-General of an order under section 6 of this Act signifying that a request for his surrender has been received, or an order under subsection (3) of this section for the cancellation of the warrant and the release of the fugitive; and
(b) shall forthwith inform the Attorney-General of the fact that the fugitive has been arrested and remanded as aforesaid,
and for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection the magistrate shall have the same powers of remand as if the fugitive were brought before him charged with an offence committed within his jurisdiction.
(6) Without prejudice to section 14 of this Act, if within the period of thirty days beginning with the day on which he was arrested, no such order as is mentioned in subsection (5)(a) of this section is received from the Attorney-General, the fugitive criminal shall be released at the end of that period.
(7) The release of any person under subsection (3) or (6) of this section shall not prejudice his subsequent arrest and surrender if a request for his surrender is afterwards made.