“Freedom is no doubt the greatest gift or heritage of man. Omnipotence created man and accorded him with divine freedom. Men are born free with liberty to think what he will, to say what he will and to go where he likes, all in a lawful manner, without let or hindrance from any other persons, private or governmental authorities. It therefore follows that, generally, detention of a man by a fellow man is a violation of the law of God and man. I am not oblivious of the fact that there are checks and balances to the series of freedom given to man. To the extent to which a man must not do his things in a way calculated to injure or adversely affect the exercise of the freedom of another man, his own freedom is limited. The whole of Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 is in tune with the universal concept of criminal law in a civilised society that upholds the rule of law as a way of life; by it, accessibility to the court and even to the highest court is guaranteed. to the citizen whose fundamental rights are threatened; his right to presumption of innocence until he is proved guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction is assured; his right to defence which includes the right to be defended by a counsel of his choice is offered to him on a platter of gold and his right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal remains sacrosanct. That is the continental law Nigeria voluntarily subscribed to. It came into force on the 17th day of March 1983.”
Oguntade J.C.A (as he then was) in the case of Comptroller of Nigerian Prisons v. Adekanye (1999) 10 NWLR (Pt. 623) 400 held at 426 – 427 paras G-B


In order to preserve the liberty of an accused person especially with the presumption of the law in Nigeria that, an accused person is innocent until he is proved guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, a legal instrument called bail was evolved in tune with the universal concept of criminal law, in a civilised society that upholds the rule of law as a way of life.
A bail is a security required by a court for the release of a prisoner as a guarantee that the prisoner would appear in court at a set date, it includes security provided for the release of an accused person in the custody of the Police or a law enforcement agency as a guarantee for his or her future appearance. The security is usually in the form of a cash deposit or a bond, while cash bail is applicable in some jurisdictions, it is not applied in Nigeria.

In practice, the accused person is only required to enter into recognisance in the sum fixed by the Court or law enforcement agency. It is not a requirement of law in Nigeria that he should deposit money before bail is granted. A Recognisance is a promise to pay a sum of money by way of security if the accused fails to appear in court. Additionally, instead of Recognisance the accused may be required to provide a surety i.e. a person who undertakes to pay a sum of money if the accused does not appear in court.



(1) Bail is a Basic Right of Every Citizen of Nigeria

• Bail is a basic right of every citizen of Nigeria who is charged with a criminal offence by virtue of section 35(1) of 1999 Constitution and Criminal Procedure Act. Thus, every person is entitled to his personal liberty and no person is to be deprived of his liberty except as stipulated by the Constitution and or statute.

• Bail to a person accused of an offence other than a capital offence is a basic right and undoublty the right to release before trial is much more basic if the trial is going to last more than two months for non-capital offences.

• Bail is a constitutional right under Section 35(1) and 36(5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is a right of an accused person, except where the alleged offence is a capital offence accused person is not usually denied bail, except where special circumstances genuinely exist.

• A person cannot be detained for more than 24 hours before he is released on bail or taken to court.

• Section 35(1) and 36(5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that a person shall not detained without a court order to that effect. This provision guarantees the right not to be arrested and imprisoned arbitrarily.

• The right of bail, a constitutional right, is contractual in nature. The effect of granting bail is not to set the accused free for all times in the criminal process but to release him from the custody of the law and to entrust him to appear at his trial at a specific time and place.

 For free legal counsel: deolumike@gmail.com

philosophic foundations of human rights law in 1999 constitution
http://www.bravoprojecthelp.com/philosophy/philosophic-foundations-of-human-rights-law-in-1999-constitution-hermeneutical-analysis/

philosophic foundations of human rights law in 1999 constitution
http://www.bravoprojecthelp.com/philosophy/philosophic-foundations-of-human-rights-law-in-1999-constitution-hermeneutical-analysis/