We commend the courage and the determination of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to create a new police force, with a new image of integrity, efficiency and respectability. Among the fresh initiatives of the Idris administration are a spirited public sensitisation on police reforms, and the commitment of the police to educate and reassure Nigerians that bail is free.  

This is not the first time this campaign has been waged.  But Idris seems to have given it credibility and a new impetus.  Cynics, who are used to previous unfulfilled promises scoff, but we believe Idris deserves to be given the opportunity to prove himself and his team’s mettle in the matter.

Now, the bail issue has been a sore point with many Nigerians who know that by the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, a Nigerian offender of the law, a suspect, or anyone caught trying to commit an offence   can and should be arrested and handed over to the Police.  Section 35 (4) (5) requires the Police to detain such accused person for no longer than 24 hours before charging him or her to court.  If the court of jurisdiction is, however, beyond a 40 kilometre radius, only then are the police permitted up to 48 hours to take the suspect to court.  The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land.

In the past, it had been the practice for the police to keep the accused in detention almost endlessly, sometimes for three, or more days.  Worried relatives of the detained would then come to seek his or her freedom from sordid police cells whose descriptions, in most instances, cannot bear reproducing. Even when a big sign hangs on the door of the police station saying ‘bail is free,’ police officers with straight faces demand money openly without shame or embarrassment in order to release the accused person.

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It is not merely that this practice is unconstitutional and illegal  for the Police to collect money before the suspect is granted bail, it negates the essence of justice as it has the appearance of punishing the accused even before he has had the opportunity of being tried, especially when it is a cardinal principle of our justice system that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  The proper way, the constitutional prescription, therefore, is for the accused to be taken to court promptly for trial and when this is not possible or expedient for whatever reason; he or she must be released pending his scheduled trial date.

Most Nigerians are anticipating a more just society now that the Police are leading this campaign by themselves.  They are hoping that the Police would not merely tell the public that bail is free but that they would also show Nigerians throughout the country that bail is free.  The bail is free campaign is so crucial that it should be one of the biggest tests of the good faith of the Police in dealing with the Nigerian public.  The popular slogan that “Police is your friend” may easily be taken with a pinch of salt.  Bail is free, on the other hand, involves a practical application.

We believe the Police must demonstrate in practical terms that it is serious about this campaign by instituting a credible monitoring mechanism.  It must create a quasi-autonomous body or work through the regular Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) which can act as an ombudsman or intermediary.  Such a body must make available to the public telephone numbers and e-mail addresses to which a subject can report or refer to, if a police man insisted on collecting money in return for bail or an accused remains incarcerated beyond the constitutionally stipulated period without being charged to court. 

We believe the Police have made giant strides in recent times and the ‘bail is free’ campaign, if it succeeds, would go a long way in giving the police a great mileage.