A group known as Vanguard for Judicial Independence has faulted prosecuting agencies’ verification of sureties for bail. The group said that the practice was unconstitutional.

The group stated this in a statement signed by its convener, Douglas Ogbankwa, in Lagos.

According to the group, it is unconstitutional for the court to direct law enforcement agencies like the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to verify the sureties of defendants.

“It offends the principle of pacta sunt servanda (no man shall be judge in his own cause) for prosecutors to be asked to verify the sureties of defendants in a criminal prosecution,” the group explained. “What it means is that a court that asks the EFCC or police or others to verify sureties has not just taken sides in the matter, but has surrendered the sovereignty of the court to another party.”

According to the statement, the action violates section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which provides that the court should be constituted in a way and manner that guarantees its independence and impartiality.

“Fair hearing is not just fairness in the hearing of a matter, but fairness in the procedures observed before a verdict is reached. Justice is a three-way traffic: justice for the state, justice for the defendant and justice for the complainant,” the group noted. “Any unfair advantage given to any party, negates the values of justice depicted by the statute of justice which is blind and has a balanced scale.”

It said some prosecutors might utilise their positions over defendants to make the bail process too rigorous, stressing that “there are defendants who remain in custody for close to one year because of these avoidable legal hiccups.”

The statement urged the judiciary to review the process of verification of sureties to put it in proper context and adopt liberal conditions of bail to save defendants from staying long in custody due to the inability to perfect their bails. 

(NAN)