The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has expressed concern over what he described as the weaponisation of bail conditions in Nigeria’s judicial system.
Osigwe said bail conditions were increasingly being used for transactional purposes or as a means of granting favours, warning that the practice undermines justice and the rule of law.
He spoke on Monday at an event in Abuja to herald the NBA-UNICEF partnership aimed at providing legal assistance and protection for vulnerable children in Nigeria.
According to him, complaints of debt are sometimes turned into allegations of criminal breach of trust, while bail conditions are manipulated to achieve ulterior motives.
He said, “A complaint of debt is turned into a criminal breach of trust. Bail conditions are now seen as either being transactional or used for favour. When a ‘big man’ wants you to be punished, they bend them in their favour.”
The NBA president also criticised the conduct of some prosecuting agencies, particularly their handling of suspects who have already been granted administrative bail but are subsequently detained after being charged to court.
He said, “An organisation has granted you bail. You are charged to court, and the same organisation comes to court to impose bail. How do we get out of this?
“You came from your house. You have been on bail for months. They have charged you to court, and they invite you to serve you with a charge. And they detain you. No time to engage your counsel.
“You tell them you are being charged to court, and they come to court and impose bail. And suddenly say you have lied recently when you came in from your house.”
Osigwe further accused the justice system of turning a blind eye to the alleged abuse of the bail process.
“We will weaponise the bail process, and our courts pretend to be blind,” he said.
The NBA president also raised concerns over the treatment of children who come in contact with the criminal justice system, particularly cases where minors are treated as adults based solely on information contained in police documents.
He said the courts should conduct proper hearings to establish the age of a child where there is doubt, rather than relying solely on documents presented by the police.
“Why must children be treated as if they are adults? Why do we have the bold face to send children to be treated as if they are adults, with all the rights and legal administration that should come with it?” he asked.
Osigwe recalled the case of malnourished children who were charged alongside adults in Kano, saying the situation demonstrated the need for greater compliance with laws protecting children.
He questioned why children allegedly involved in unrest in Kano and Katsina were brought to Abuja, far away from their parents and support systems.
“What do you want to achieve? How will they take care of them? Must our first line of action be to remind them that they are children?” he asked.
The NBA president said existing provisions under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws (ACJL) should be properly implemented to protect children and ensure that their cases are handled without unnecessary delays.
He also criticised the practice of remanding children in correctional facilities that lack adequate space, funding and personnel trained to care for minors.
“There are provisions for provisional use in our laws. We are not implementing them. We want to dump everything on the prison, and they don’t even have enough money to feed them,” he said.
Osigwe called for urgent reforms in the justice system, stressing that laws protecting children and suspects should not merely exist on paper but must be enforced.
“Let’s stop fooling ourselves. Until we stop hypnotising ourselves, until our system works, we will continue to have these problems,” he said.
He urged judges, prosecutors, police officers and other justice-sector actors to comply with the law and ensure that children are treated as children throughout the criminal justice process.
