NBA slams tough police bail conditions

Afam Osigwe, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has voiced strong concerns regarding the increasingly stringent and punitive bail conditions imposed by various police divisions across Nigeria. Speaking at a meeting with the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, Osigwe stated that bail is often administered in a way that effectively denies suspects their freedom, describing it as "bail by pretending to give it."

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I will use this opportunity to note that bail has become a punitive thing, that in our police stations, in our courts, in EFCC offices, ICPC offices, bail is being given with the intention that the people should not enjoy it. So we deny bail by pretending to give it.

Osigwe pointed to the troubling practice where some police officers insist on suspects producing directors or senior civil servants as sureties. He noted that this requirement has become normalized in some stations, with only directors acceptable to investigating officers often being considered valid sureties. This practice, he argued, has fostered a "black market in suretyship," where individuals unconnected to the suspects offer to act as sureties for a fee, placing a significant financial burden on detainees and their families.

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The worst part of it is that it has now seemed to be becoming normal that in some police stations, when bail is granted, they say you must bring a director or senior civil servant. And sometimes it is only the directors acceptable to the investigating officers that can stand as sureties.

The NBA president called for a return to reasonable bail conditions. These conditions, he stressed, should solely aim to ensure suspects appear when required by investigators or the courts, rather than serving as a punitive measure. Osigwe also urged the Nigeria Police Force to comply with legal provisions mandating judges and magistrates to inspect detention facilities within their jurisdictions.

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These directors who don’t know the suspects now agree to become sureties for a fee. So a great financial burden is thereby imposed on the person in detention, his family and his friends.

Despite provisions in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act that require judicial officers to visit detention centers, Osigwe noted that some law enforcement agencies, including the police, have been reluctant to grant such access. He clarified that these inspections are not intended to indict security agencies but to ensure legal compliance and protect the rights of detainees. Osigwe emphasized that these inspections are crucial for safeguarding the rights of detainees.

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There is presently a provision in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act which says that the Chief Judge shall direct judges and magistrates to visit detention facilities or centres within their jurisdiction to inspect. And even with this statutory provision, the police, and not only the police, but some law enforcement agencies also refuse and resist these efforts.