A humble, rational, and optimistic person guided by faith & driven by a clear purpose. | Quran 65:3 | Reliable Realist | fragrance enthusiast | pluviophile |
The presidency should ask the CBN to bring back cashless policy, this time with strict compliance to the rules and regulations put in place by the CBN. Until then, the presidency should constitute a task force comprising of staff of all the banks in this country to go around every nooks and crannies opening bank accounts for people who do not have bank accounts. Letโs mop up 75% of Nigeriaโs cash in circulation.
Grateful to @IdrisMSL for a wonderful dinner. It was my first taste of authentic Turkish cuisine, and it certainly lived up to the hype. @h_hbello kwalelen ka ๐
BAIL CONDITIONS SHOULD NOT UNDERMINE THE ESSENCE OF BAIL
In recent times, we have observed with growing concern a disturbing trend in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria, where courts and law enforcement agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, EFCC, ICPC, and other security agencies, increasingly impose bail conditions that are excessive, impractical, and difficult to satisfy. The frequent insistence on sureties who are senior civil servants of specified grade levels, coupled with demands for landed properties of extraordinary value, has in many cases transformed bail from a mechanism for securing attendance at trial into a tool of pretrial detention. The consequence is that many persons who are constitutionally presumed innocent and have ostensibly been granted bail remain incarcerated because the conditions attached to their release are beyond their reach. This troubling development undermines the constitutional right to personal liberty, weakens the presumption of innocence, and defeats the very essence and purpose of bail within our criminal justice system.
We consider it necessary to reiterate that bail is a constitutional safeguard designed to secure the attendance of an accused person at trial while preserving his or her liberty pending the determination of guilt or innocence. It is neither a punishment nor a mechanism for imposing pre-trial incarceration by indirect means. The law is settled that bail conditions must be reasonable, practical, and capable of being fulfilled by the accused person.
The Supreme Court, in Suleman & Anor v. Commissioner of Police, Plateau State (2008), emphasized that the object of bail pending trial is to grant pre-trial freedom to an accused person whose appearance in court can be secured through appropriate conditions. Bail is not intended to create insurmountable obstacles that make release impossible.
We are particularly concerned by the increasing tendency to impose conditions that are disconnected from prevailing economic realities and often impossible to satisfy. Conditions requiring sureties who are serving civil servants on specific salary grades, ownership of landed properties of extraordinary value, or other burdensome requirements effectively convert the grant of bail into a denial of bail.
Of particular concern is the continued insistence in some cases on sureties who must be senior civil servants, often on Grade Levels 16 or 17, and who must own properties worth hundreds of millions of naira. Such conditions have been strongly criticised by the appellate courts.
In Dasuki v. Director-General, State Security Service & Ors (2019) LPELR-49182 (CA), the Court of Appeal unequivocally condemned the practice of involving serving public officers as a mandatory category of sureties. The Court observed that such requirements are unknown to civilised legal systems and run contrary to public service regulations. The Court further noted that expecting a public servant on Grade Level 16 to own property worth N100 million would not only be unrealistic but could also conflict with public service rules and anti-corruption objectives.
The Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, is equally clear on this issue. Section 165(1) provides that while the grant and conditions of bail are within the discretion of the court, such conditions must not be excessive. Judicial discretion, though wide, must always be exercised judiciously, reasonably, and in a manner consistent with constitutional guarantees.
We therefore restate that bail conditions must be tailored solely to ensure attendance at trial. They must never serve as instruments of punishment prior to conviction. Conditions that cannot be met amount in substance to a refusal of bail and contribute directly to pre-trial detention and congestion in correctional facilities.
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Innalillahi wainna ilaihi rajiun, we are in a deep mess.
This is not a beach for fun, this is an attempt to survive banditry attack in Birnin Magaji community of Zamfara State. Women and children are not afraid to get drowned in the river.
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All Mallam keeps asking for are books. Specific books with title & author. Through this maze, it took me 50 minutes to find one particular one he requested by Author Bob Woodward.
POV: Youโre staring at 1.7M+ people from every race & background sleeping side-by-side on the ground without shelter. The ultimate reminder that we all leave this world the exact same way..
The Minister of @FMWNIG should at least come out with a statement and an apology re this Abj-KD road blockade that has gone on for days. Not always be front and centre when measuring thickness by millimetre and water cement ratio! Own this mess! We give you kudos where you excel!
For those wondering, (because I am constantly asked) Mallam is in good health, his spirit is high & the last time I visited days ago, I totally forgot where we were as he still remains calm & witty in the midst of all the injustice, surrounded by his mountain of books & legal briefs from his lawyers. It is we, his family & lawyers that are very bothered.
Man is moving like he knows something we all donโt regarding the situation & future. It is unsettling how one can be this level-headed & focused.
#FreeMallam.