Former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission and legal practitioner, Festus Okoye, has raised concerns over the emergence of a new class of well-funded and well-connected professional “charge-and-bail” experts who earn a living by meeting increasingly difficult bail conditions imposed by security agencies and courts.
Okoye said the development should worry members of the legal profession, human rights advocates and all Nigerians committed to the protection of personal liberty, warning that the modern operators are often not lawyers but possess the connections, documents and financial resources required to secure the release of high-profile suspects.
According to him, there was a time when prominent individuals facing criminal allegations were granted bail on self-recognisance because their identities, residences, businesses, families and community connections were well known.
He explained that such persons were considered unlikely to abscond because they had substantial interests within the country and could easily be traced by security agencies.
Okoye noted that the primary purpose of bail is to ensure that an accused person appears in court to face trial, making the earlier practice of releasing low-risk suspects on recognisance reasonable.
He, however, observed that population growth, urbanisation and the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of Nigerian cities have altered the situation, as many wealthy individuals have become less visible within their communities and may possess the resources to relocate when accused of committing offences.
Despite the changing circumstances, Okoye questioned why bail conditions imposed by security agencies and courts have become so onerous that only professional sureties can satisfy them, particularly in cases involving politically exposed persons and other influential Nigerians.
He stressed that ordinary citizens also face criminal charges but often lack the income, property and documentation required to secure their release.
According to him, many low-income Nigerians live in rented apartments without formal tenancy agreements, own no landed property and have friends and relatives who are equally unable to present Certificates of Occupancy, tax clearance certificates or other documents demanded as bail conditions.
Okoye recalled that two categories of professional “charge-and-bail” operators existed in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The first category, he said, comprised individuals who regularly attended magistrates’ courts, understood court procedures and maintained relationships with court clerks, registrars, bailiffs and police prosecutors.
These operators reportedly possessed passport photographs, electricity bills, tenancy agreements and Certificates of Occupancy, some of which could be of doubtful authenticity.
Where a magistrate imposed difficult conditions, Okoye said such persons worked with court officials to arrange documents capable of satisfying the requirements.
The second category consisted of lawyers who moved from one magistrates’ court to another looking for clients and working closely with the first group of professional sureties.
He said some of the lawyers had no permanent offices but were familiar with clerks, registrars and bailiffs and knew where to find them whenever their services were required.
Okoye observed that technological limitations, particularly the scarcity of mobile phones at the time, restricted the operations of the earlier professional sureties, but noted that they remain active in magistrates’ courts, area courts, customary courts and rent tribunals.
He further alleged that some prosecutors and magistrates have stopped using intermediaries and now negotiate arrangements directly, describing the situation as a serious threat to the integrity of the justice system.
The legal practitioner warned those who impose excessive bail conditions that nobody knows what the future holds, adding that officials who facilitate such practices today may find themselves unable to meet similar requirements if they become accused persons tomorrow.
Okoye cited bail conditions reportedly imposed by a security agency requiring a civil servant acting as surety to provide two passport photographs, a letter from an officer on Grade Level 12 or above, letters of first appointment and last promotion, a recent payslip, salary account details, an employer’s introduction letter, proof of residence in Abuja and a formal bail application.
He said private individuals seeking to stand as sureties are also required in some cases to produce two passport photographs, a landlord’s introduction letter, an original Certificate of Occupancy for property in Abuja, a two-year tax clearance certificate, valid bank account details, a national identity card or driver’s licence and proof that they reside in Abuja.
Okoye said some courts have adopted similar conditions, including demands for original Certificates of Occupancy, civil servants on Grade Level 15 or above, affidavits of means and attestation letters from first-class traditional rulers.
He disclosed that one court in the Federal Capital Territory imposed bail in the sum of ₦2 billion, while another imposed ₦500 million.
According to him, these conditions create opportunities for wealthy professional sureties who have the required documents, connections and resources and can produce them even at midnight.
He warned that such operators do not come cheaply and mostly serve wealthy and influential defendants, leaving poor and vulnerable suspects in prolonged detention.
Okoye questioned whether the growing practice was consistent with Section 35(4) of the 1999 Constitution, which requires an arrested or detained person to be brought before a court within a reasonable time and released, either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, where the person is not tried within the constitutionally prescribed period.
He maintained that bail conditions should be reasonably necessary to secure an accused person’s attendance at trial rather than so excessive that they become impossible for ordinary citizens to fulfil.
Okoye called on members of the Bar and Bench, human rights advocates and justice-sector institutions to examine the increasing commercialisation of bail and its consequences for constitutional liberty, equality before the law and access to justice.
