NBA faults excessive bail conditions, warns they cause pre-trial detention

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has strongly condemned the excessive and often impractical bail conditions imposed by courts and law enforcement agencies across Nigeria. The association warns that this trend is perverting the concept of bail, turning it into a de facto tool for pre-trial detention.

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Bail conditions should not undermine the essence of bail.

In a statement signed by its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, the NBA highlighted that this practice, observed among agencies like the Nigeria Police Force, EFCC, and ICPC, leaves many accused individuals in custody despite being granted bail simply because they cannot meet the stringent requirements. The association emphasized that bail is a constitutional safeguard designed to ensure an accused person's attendance at trial while preserving their liberty, not a punitive measure.

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We consider it necessary to reiterate that bail is a constitutional safeguard designed to secure the attendance of an accused person at trial while preserving his or her liberty pending the determination of guilt or innocence. It is neither a punishment nor a mechanism for imposing pre-trial incarceration by indirect means.

The NBA stressed that bail conditions must remain reasonable and achievable, warning that impossible requirements effectively amount to a denial of bail. The association expressed particular concern over the increasing tendency to impose conditions disconnected from economic realities, such as demanding sureties who are senior civil servants or requiring high-value landed property. These practices, the NBA argues, lack legal justification and exacerbate pre-trial detention.

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We are particularly concerned by the increasing tendency to impose conditions that are disconnected from prevailing economic realities and often impossible to satisfy.

Citing Supreme Court and Court of Appeal decisions, including Suleman & Anor v. Commissioner of Police, Plateau State (2008) and Dasuki v. Director-General, State Security Service & Ors (2019), the NBA underscored that bail is intended to secure attendance through reasonable conditions. The association also referenced Section 165(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which mandates that bail conditions must not be excessive. The NBA urged the judiciary to ensure bail conditions are not used as indirect punishment, emphasizing that judicial discretion must align with constitutional safeguards.

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The administration of justice is best served when the rights of accused persons are protected while ensuring their attendance at trial through reasonable and lawful condit