NBA Raises Alarm Over Stringent Bail Conditions, Says Practice Undermines Justice

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has expressed concern over what it described as the growing trend of excessive and unrealistic bail conditions imposed by courts and law enforcement agencies, warning that the practice is undermining the constitutional right to personal liberty and the presumption of innocence.

In a statement signed by its President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, the association noted that many accused persons who have been granted bail remain in detention because the conditions attached to their release are difficult or impossible to satisfy.

According to the NBA, the frequent demand for sureties who are senior civil servants on specific grade levels, as well as requirements for landed properties of high value, has effectively turned bail into a form of pre-trial detention rather than a mechanism for ensuring attendance at trial.

The association stressed that bail is a constitutional safeguard intended to preserve the liberty of an accused person pending the determination of guilt or innocence and should not be used as a form of punishment before conviction.

Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Suleman & Anor v. Commissioner of Police, Plateau State (2008), the NBA stated that the primary purpose of bail is to grant pre-trial freedom to an accused person whose appearance in court can be secured through reasonable conditions.

The NBA particularly criticised the continued insistence on sureties who are serving civil servants on Grade Levels 16 and 17 and who must possess properties worth hundreds of millions of naira, describing such requirements as unrealistic and disconnected from prevailing economic realities.

ALSO READ: UNIPORT Appoints Former Rivers Health Commissioner as 10th Vice-Chancellor

It also referenced the Court of Appeal’s decision in Dasuki v. Director-General, State Security Service & Ors (2019), where the court condemned the practice of making senior public officers mandatory sureties. The appellate court reportedly observed that such conditions are unknown to civilised legal systems and may conflict with public service regulations and anti-corruption objectives.

The association further pointed to Section 165(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which provides that while courts have discretion in granting bail and setting conditions, such conditions must not be excessive.

The NBA argued that conditions that cannot reasonably be met amount to a refusal of bail in substance and contribute to prolonged pre-trial detention and overcrowding in correctional facilities.

It also faulted the restriction of acceptable sureties to a particular class of citizens, especially senior civil servants, saying there is no legal or empirical basis for assuming that civil servants are inherently more reliable than other law-abiding Nigerians.

The association therefore urged courts at all levels to ensure that bail conditions remain fair, reasonable, proportionate and attainable, while safeguarding the constitutional presumption of innocence.

” Bail should not become a privilege reserved only for those with extraordinary means or connections,” the NBA said, adding that the right to bail must remain meaningful and effective for all citizens who have not been convicted of any offence.