The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has raised concerns over the growing practice of imposing excessive and impractical bail conditions, warning that the trend is transforming bail into a tool for pre-trial detention.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Afam Osigwe, president of
the NBA, said courts and law enforcement agencies are increasingly imposing
conditions that many defendants could not meet despite being granted bail.
Osigwe said the frequent insistence on sureties who are
senior civil servants and demands for landed properties of high value had made
it difficult for many accused persons to regain their freedom pending trial.
“The frequent insistence on sureties who are senior civil
servants of specified grade levels, coupled with demands for landed properties
of extraordinary value, has in many cases transformed bail from a mechanism for
securing attendance at trial into a tool of pretrial detention,” he said.
“The consequence is that many persons who are
constitutionally presumed innocent and have ostensibly been granted bail remain
incarcerated because the conditions attached to their release are beyond their
reach.”
The NBA president said imposing stringent bail conditions
undermines the constitutional right to personal liberty and weakens the
presumption of innocence.
He noted that bail is intended to secure the attendance of
an accused person in court and not to serve as a punishment before conviction.
“It is neither a punishment nor a mechanism for imposing
pre-trial incarceration by indirect means,” he said.
“The law is settled that bail conditions must be reasonable,
practical, and capable of being fulfilled by the accused person.”
“Conditions requiring sureties who are serving civil
servants on specific salary grades, ownership of landed properties of
extraordinary value, or other burdensome requirements effectively convert the
grant of bail into a denial of bail.
“There is no evidence that civil servants are inherently
more reliable as sureties than other law-abiding citizens. Such requirements
unduly narrow the pool of eligible sureties and create artificial barriers to
the enjoyment of a constitutional right.”
Osigwe cited judicial authorities, including the court of
appeal’s decision in Dasuki v. Director-General, State Security Service &
Ors, which criticised the practice of making serving public officers a
mandatory category of sureties.
He also referenced section 165(1) of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which provides that while courts have
discretion to grant bail, such conditions must not be excessive.
The NBA president urged courts to ensure that bail terms
remain fair, proportionate and attainable.
“Courts must guard against imposing terms that render the
grant of bail illusory or nugatory,” Osigwe said.
He added that bail “should not become a privilege reserved
only for those with extraordinary means or connections” but should remain a
mechanism for securing attendance at trial while preserving the liberty of
persons who have not been convicted of any offence.
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