Bail In Nigeria

According to Black’s Law Dictionary ninth edition, bail is a security such as cash or a bond, especially security required by a court for the release of a prisoner who must appear at a future time.
It can also be defined as the process whereby a person accused or being charged for the commission of an offence is released by the constituted authority who is detaining him, on the condition that he will appear or report to police station or court or other identified location in future whenever his presence is required or so ordered. In Nigeria, we have two major kinds of bail, they are, police bail and court bail.
By section 158 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, when a person who is suspected to have committed an offence or is accused of an offence is arrested or detained, or appears or is brought before a court, he shall, subject to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, be entitled to bail. Bail may be granted:
i. Pending the conclusion of investigation; or
ii. Pending the determination of the case or trial; or
iii. Pending the determination of an appeal against conviction
Bail is a conditional constitutional right. This is because it is a direct offshoot of the constitutional right to personal liberty in section 35(1) of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria (as amended). Under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) section 341 (2) thereof, all that the application for bail needs to show in order for the accused person to be granted bail by the magistrate seized of the matter is to satisfy the requirements of the said subsection (2) as follows
1. That by reason of the granting of bail, the proper investigation of the case would not be prejudiced, and
2. That no serious risk of the accused escaping from justice would be occasioned; and
3. That no grounds exist for believing that the accused if released would commit an offence.
Once a judge has decided to grant bail he or she will determine the conditions of bail, which must be fulfilled. They typically are, production of a surety, if the offence is minor in nature and the accused is a reliable citizen, holding residence within the jurisdiction of the court, the court may grant such a person bail without a surety. That is bail based on self recognition, in addition to the surety or self recognition, the judge will order to secure bail through a bail bond, that is a sum of money which becomes payable if the accused jumps bail.
Bail in Nigeria now, is not about fulfilling the statutory provisions about bail or meeting the conditions given by magistrates and judges. In recent time, inspite of meeting the various conditions of bail as the court finally granting the said bail. The bail remains a mirage, in some cases when the people are finally allowed to go, they are rearrested the next day without violating the bail conditions. In our police stations, monies are paid for the bail of a suspect and not deposited as security for the release of the suspect. Yet they say bail is free.
What then are the conditions for bail, since the court orders are not enough for the grant of bail?

By: Nkechi Bright-Ewere