The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has decried what it called a “disturbing trend” of excessive and impractical bail conditions by courts and security agencies, warning that the practice has turned bail into a tool for pretrial detention.
In a statement issued by NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, the association said courts and agencies including the Nigeria Police Force, EFCC, ICPC, and others are increasingly demanding sureties who are senior civil servants on specified grade levels and landed property of extraordinary value.
The NBA argued that such requirements have left many constitutionally presumed-innocent persons in custody despite being granted bail, because the conditions are beyond their reach.
“Bail is a constitutional safeguard designed to secure the attendance of an accused person at trial while preserving his liberty pending determination of guilt or innocence. It is neither punishment nor a disguised form of pretrial incarceration,” Osigwe stated.
Citing the Supreme Court in Suleman & Anor v. Commissioner of Police, Plateau State (2008), he noted that bail pending trial is meant to grant pre-trial freedom, secured by appropriate conditions that guarantee court attendance.
The NBA president specifically condemned the insistence on Grade Level 16/17 civil servants as sureties and demands for property worth hundreds of millions of naira. He referenced the Court of Appeal in Dasuki v. Director-General, DSS & Ors (2019), which described such requirements as “unknown to civilised legal systems” and in conflict with public service rules.
He also referenced Dasuki v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2018), where the appellate court held that expecting a Grade Level 16 officer to own property worth N100 million is unrealistic and could violate anti-corruption regulations.
Osigwe said Section 165(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 is clear that bail conditions must not be excessive. “Judicial discretion, though wide, must be exercised judiciously, reasonably, and in line with constitutional guarantees,” he added.
The NBA called on courts and law enforcement agencies to tailor bail conditions strictly to ensuring an accused person’s attendance at trial. Conditions, it said, must be fair, reasonable, proportionate, and attainable.
“Bail should not become a privilege reserved for the wealthy or well-connected. It must remain what the law intended it to be — a means of securing trial attendance while protecting the liberty and dignity of persons not yet convicted of any offence,” Osigwe said.