The NBA has voiced its disapproval of what it sees as an increasing trend in which courts and police departments in Nigeria impose bail terms that are both harsh and impractical.
The NBA president, Afam Osigwe, issued a statement stating that the constitutional aim of providing accused individuals with temporary freedom while awaiting trial should not be undermined by bail terms.
He emphasised that bail is not a punishment but rather a means to make sure that criminals show up for court.
“Bail is neither a punishment nor a mechanism for imposing pre-trial incarceration by indirect means,” Osigwe stated.
He stated that the group had seen instances when defendants were made to post sureties consisting of senior public workers on Grade Levels 16 or 17, or landed properties valued in the hundreds of millions of naira, in order to be released from bail.
Because many accused persons cannot meet these standards even if the courts have granted them release, the NBA claims that these restrictions are effectively a refusal of bail.
In order to bolster its stance, the legal authority referenced earlier rulings by the courts. It cited the Supreme Court’s decision in Suleman & Anor v. Commissioner of Police, Plateau State, which ruled that defendants should not face insurmountable obstacles when applying for release, but rather that the purpose of bail is to ensure their freedom before to trial.
In their defence, the NBA cited the case of Dasuki v. Director-General, State Security Service, in which the Court of Appeal deemed the practice of requiring serving public officers to serve as sureties to be unreasonable and at odds with norms surrounding public service.
Specifically, Osigwe reminded the court officials that unreasonable bail conditions are explicitly stated in Section 165(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
He cautioned that unachievable bail conditions are the same as refusing bail and asked courts across to keep bail terms fair, reasonable, and realistic.
A refusal of bail is the result of conditions that cannot be met, he stated.
The president of the NBA went on to say that there is no reason to restrict sureties to top government employees and that this practice adds to prison overcrowding by holding offenders in jail after bail has been granted.