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Dele Farotimi

10.12.2024 Explainer Dele Farotimi: What Determines Bail Conditions?

Published 10th Dec, 2024

By Akinjide Adebowale

On Monday, when the Federal High Court in Ekiti State currently prosecuting Afe Babalola’s defamation case against Dele Farotimi, granted him a N50 million bail, many Nigerians on X opined that the terms were stringent and unfair for a civil suit as defamation.

Rinu Oduala, a human rights activist, asked “N50 million for what crime?” on Monday.

Oluwatosin Adeyemi, who claimed to have been bailed out of police custody in 2020 by Farotimi, also pledged solidarity to the lawyer’s cause. “The N50 million bail can not stand,” he posted on X.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: IGP Files 12 More Charges Against Farotimi

There have been dissenting voices about the trajectory of Farotimi’s trials right from when he was arrested to his detention, the Inspector General of Police’s suit filed against him and now to his bail conditions.

FIJ sought lawyers out to explain what determined bail conditions, especially in a case such as Farotimi’s.

For starters, the bail conditions granted Farotimi were for him to get a surety who lived in Ekiti and owned a property in the state. This and his ability to pay N50 million.

“He was granted a bail of N50 million and surety in like sum, which must be resident in Ekiti State with a landed property, including the travel passport of the defendant should be submitted at the court,” Ralph Nwoke, one of the defendant’s counsel, said.

The right of any Nigerian to bail is explicitly stated in Section 35 (4) of the 1999 Constitution while it is premised on the position that “every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty” as stated in Section 36 (5).

READ ALSO: Dele Farotimi Hurriedly Prosecuted, Sent to Prison in Ekiti

“Bail is at the discretion of the court via the judge. That discretion must be judicially and judiciously exercised looking at the offence the person is charged for, the proof of evidence before the judge and other things,” Kelechukwu Uzoka, a Nigerian lawyer, told FIJ.

Uzoka explained that the right to bail is strongly upheld for crimes that do not carry capital punishment such as murder, terrorism, armed robbery, kidnapping and similar offences.

Bernard Onigah, another lawyer, also told FIJ that the judge solely has the decision of a bail term with certain conditions that could be pointers.

“The conditions of bails are solely at the discretion of the judge, and that is because while there are guidelines, there are no specific conditions laid down for every kind of offence,” Onigah said.

“The reason for that is because a criminal case is regarded as a living thing, and so it is presumed that the judge or the magistrate as it were in this case, has the opportunity to interact with the prosecutor and the defendant. He can read their body language, the demeanour and all of that.”

READ ALSO: Defamation Suit Filed by IGP Against Dele Farotimi Not A Crime In Ekiti, Says Odinkalu

‘THE JUDGE HAS THE SOLE DECISION BUT THERE ARE CONDITIONS THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED’

While the judge is free to decide what they deem appropriate in determining a bail term, some of the expected conditions can indicate when a judge has passed a bail condition out of spite or unusual bias.

“The conduct of the defendant while in detention, if it is the case that the defendant was given administrative bail and he jumped it, and then maybe he was later arrested and brought to court. All of these would determine the nature of the bail,” Onigah explained.

“The personality of the defendant is so important. That was why we thought that the court would have asked a representative of the Nigerian Bar Association to take Dele on bail if they will. That would mean that the court would be granting him bail on self-recognisance.”

While the bail granted Farotimi at the Ekiti Federal High Court was orally passed, the Ekiti magistrate adjourned the day of his bail hearing until October 20, meaning that he would be behind bars for an extra ten days.

One reply on “Dele Farotimi: What Determines Bail Conditions?”

While the bail granted Farotimi at the Ekiti Federal High Court was orally passed, the Ekiti magistrate adjourned the day of his bail hearing until October 20, meaning that he would be behind bars for an extra ten days.

***Please correct the bail hearing date****

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Published 10th Dec, 2024

By Akinjide Adebowale

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