Women

Who Says Women Can’t Surety Bail?

Published

15 years ago

July 24, 2009

There are erroneous ideas that have been bandied about for so long that they lose their untrue status and become acceptable as “truth” or “norm”. The level of acceptability becomes rife that those who are averse to these ideas are seen as the “other”, unconventional, or down-rightly branded as wrong. Unfortunately, some of these untruths which metamorphose, by constant mention, to “truths” are regurgitated from one generation to another. The vicious circle continues as those who are too lazy to properly make enquiries about the true position accept and accentuate falsehood.

A veritable example of the foregoing is the myth of women’s incompetence to stand surety for bail. Over the years, most Nigerians have come to believe and pass down the idea that women cannot be sureties. It is even more disheartening when this wrong is perpetuated by the law enforcement officers themselves. Those whose primary duty is to imbibe and enforce the law unfortunately transfer traditional patriarchal bias on gender differentiation to the interpretation of the law.

Obviously, this evil is perpetuated without recourse to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution which unequivocally provides that:

(1) A Citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, circumstance of birth, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person

(a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religious or political opinions are not made subject; or

(b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religious or political opinions.

(2) No citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of the circumstances of his birth. In view of the above, it is worrisome that the constitution which is our groundnorm (basic norm) is blatantly disregarded. Women are embarrassed daily and made to feel that “All men are equal but some are more equal than others”, even in this post-Beijing era.

A surety is just a person who guarantees by means of recognizance, the appearance in court or at a police station of an accused person admitted to bail. What the law only requires, by virtue of Section 122 of the Criminal Procedure Act (Applicable in the South) is for the surety to enter into recognisance to ensure the attendance of the accused person in court. A similar provision is stated in Section 345 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Applicable in the North) which enjoins a surety to execute a bond for the appearance of a person admitted to bail.

It is noteworthy to state that both Section 134 of the Criminal Procedure Act and Section 351 of the Criminal Procedure Code allow a surety to apply to discharge a recognizance or bond, either wholly or in so far as it applies to the applicant. On discharge of such recognizance or bond, the court shall issue a warrant for the arrest of the person on whose behalf the recognizance or bond was executed and require such person to find other surety or sureties. Also, by Section 143 of the Criminal Procedure Act and Section 355 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court is empowered to order the arrest of a person bound by any recognizance or bond if such person fails to appear before the court at a designated time.

In granting bail, the major interest of the court is in the appearance of the accused person at a certain day and place and not the sex of the surety. By Section 341 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the factors considered before granting bail are namely: the nature of the offence, the severity of the punishment, the criminal records of the accused (Eyu V State) and the likelihood of the accused committing other offences while on bail (R V Jammal). Other factors to be considered are: the likelihood of the accused interfering with the investigation of the offence (Dantata V Police), the probability of delay in the trial and most importantly, the likelihood of the accused jumping bail and not appearing in court.

Therefore, the sex of a surety is inconsequential as long as the purpose is achieved .

After due consideration of legal principles relating to bail and suretyship, one is left wondering about the basis for the exclusion of women. It is very surprising that even those who are supposed to have risen above such machismo are the very ones who discriminate against women and quickly point out their “position” to them.

Law enforcement agents who refuse women from standing surety for bail should note that they have no legal backing, or logical basis. Afterall, women have proved their mettle in all areas of human endeavour, no matter the stratum. Women are excelling even in fields hitherto considered the exclusive preserve of men. Therefore, being a woman does not translate into intellectual or economic inferiority. The two sexes are supposed to complement each other rather than seek areas of inequality.

It is heartwarming though that some law enforcement officers have risen above this baseless assumption and now allow women to surety bail. Those who are still fixated on this illegal discrimatory and retrogressive practice should have a rethink and tow the line of reason because women of impeccable integrity who possess the wherewithal to surety bail abound.

Mrs Manuela Izunwa Rivers State Women Affairs Commissioner

Women

The Wise Woman

Published

1 week ago

April 26, 2024

The Tide

The wise woman builds her home. Mothers are supposed to live exemplary lives. The roles of mothers in the building of the modern Christian home cannot be overemphasized.
The function of the mother is to help the man build the home. She is a helper. A helper to the husband when the man is not doing well. It is important for the wise woman to assist when the man is not able to meet up with the items needed in the home.
A wise woman needs to reference God first and then the husband. Also the wise woman should respect her husband.
Caring for her own children as well as others is very crucial.
Do not despise children from other mothers. Discipline the child who is going the wrong way.
Ensure family bonding, show love and don’t discriminate. Connection with children is very important, especially the females. Find out who is her friend. Also find out the kind of lives they live. Caution, counsel and guide so that they make good partners.
Teaching children the dos and donts should start from birth. Inculcate the word of God in them so that when they grow, will not depart from it.
From the Scripture, some women influenced their families positively. Virgin Mary influenced the world, she never destroyed herself hence she gave birth to Jesus Christ.
Elizabeth, despite her age, God blessed her as she waited patiently.
A wise should curb favouritism in the family and love children equally. Whether a child is your biological child or not, it is necessary to show love equally. Reprimanding the children should be the function of both man and wife.

Women

The Desire Of Every Woman In Marriage

Published

1 week ago

April 26, 2024

The Tide

Marriage is beautiful when there is love. Before and after marriage, couples show love to themselves. But you discover that after some years, that same love turn to be something else. A lot of people start going through emotional trauma in the hands of their loved spouses.
There are many things the woman desires to keep the love on as far as marriage is concerned.
Women are blesssed with feminine abilities that can be used for good in husbands lives. With your abilities, you can create a marriage that will last till couples get old.
A woman needs
man that is honest, trustworthy, nice, loving and financially stable.
There are no two ways about finance in marriage. No matter the level of love, if there is no reasonable finance, it is always difficult to manage the home.
Referring to the Biblical belief in Genesis 3: “Your desire shall be unto you…….. “
What this means is that whatever the woman desires in life shall be provided as far as she performs her role in her home. There are many things the woman expects her husband to take care of.
A woman wants a husband that is not lazy, at least helping to do one or two things when he is at home.
A man that is educated and intelligent so that they will transfer such traits to their children.
Knowing that there are traits that her husband has, traits of taking care of people, giving freely to people and caring for her family. She expects him to exhibit them.
A woman wants to love a husband that has family interest at heart. A man that spends time with his family, remembering his family even as he is away from home.
No matter where he finds himself, he is not destracted by external influence. He returns home to his loved ones.
A woman should not antagonise her husband because of one error or the other. No matter the level of offence he may have committed, you still show some love.
According to the Scripture, it is with wisdom that a woman builds her home. As far as he rreturns home, you accept him as your own.
It is not as if the woman will not monitor her husband, but to certain limit. Don’t be a monitoring spirit. Don’t allow anything to take your joy.
Don’t loose trust in your husband. The idea of checking your husband’s phone should be discouraged. The more you check your husband and his phone, the more you loose your joy.
You can show some form of jealousy, but to an extent. Cooperation, respect and being honoured from time to time is what the woman desires.
The home should not be a battle ground for a woman and man. A woman should be able to ask herself if the check on her husband will pay her any good.
Draw a line to a point where you checkmate your husband’s activities.
A woman wants a man that will love her and telling her you love her will be all she desires.

Women

The Desire Of Every Woman In Marriage

Published

1 month ago

April 5, 2024

The Tide

A woman needs a man that is honest, trustworthy, nice, loving and financially stable.
There are no two ways about finance in marriage. No matter the level of love, If there is no money, it is always difficult.

Referring to the Biblical belief in Genesis 3:Your desire shall be unto you……..
That is one aspect the woman expects her husband to take care of.
A woman wants a husband that is not lazy, at least helping to do one or two things. A man that is educated and intelligent.
She knows that there is a trait that her husband has. Traits of taking care of people, giving freely to people and caring for her family.
A woman wants to love a husband that has family interest at heart. A man that spends time with his family, remembering his family even as he is away from home.
A woman should not antagonise her husband because of one error or the other. No matter the level of offence he may have committed, you still show some love.

According to the Scripture, it is with wisdom that the women builds her home.
It is not as if the woman will not monitor her husband, but to certain limit. Don’t be a monitoring spirit. Don’t allow anything to take your joy.
Don’t loose trust in your husband.
The idea of checking your husband’s phone should be discouraged. The more you check your husband and his phone, the more you loose your joy.

The home should not be a battle ground for a woman and man. A woman should be able to ask herself if the check on her husband will pay her any good.
Draw a line to a point where you checkmate your husband’s activities.
A woman wants a man that will love her and telling her you love her will be all she desires.