Lagos CJ Calls for Partnership With Judiciary on Bondsman Scheme
The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Opeyemi Oke has urged individuals and corporate bodies to partner with the Lagos State Judiciary on actualising the bondsman scheme in order to make bail more accessible to defendants standing trial in courts.
She urged stakeholders to make the necessary applications to join the scheme, emphasising that it has been proven in other jurisdictions that the professional bail bondsman brings important benefits to the society.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ summit themed: “Actualising The Law on the Bondsmen and Recovery of Recognisance in Lagos State”, Oke lamented that no individual or corporate body has applied to be a licensed bondsman and bonds company more than eight years after the Bondsmen Regulation of 2011 came into force in line with Section 138 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).
She said the introduction of the bondsmen into the criminal justice administration of the State was to make bail more accessible to anyone charged with a criminal offence and prevent touting by unlicensed persons and defendants from absconding trials.
Justice Oke described the bondsmen scheme as very laudable, pointing out that it would assist defendants to obtain bail and ensure such persons can be produced effortlessly as and when needed in court.
She expressed confidence that the bonds person scheme will significantly reduce prison congestion and other problems associated with same, while also ensuring that recognisance can be recovered in full where persons on bail abscond.
The CJ explained that Section 138 (8) of the ACJL confers on the bonds person the power of arrest should a defendant attempt to abscond, stressing that, “Every Bonds person shall have the powers to arrest any defendant or suspect who is absconding or who he believes is trying to evade or avoid appearances in Court- if he cannot bring the person arrested within 12 hours of the arrest before a Court, he shall hand the person arrested over to the Police who shall produce such person before the appropriate Court”.
In his lecture titled, “A Practical Approach to the Bondmen Procedure in the Justice System in Lagos State”, Bail bond expert, Dr. Seyi Adetayo remarked that bondsmen practice has not only helped defendants to access bail but also assisted low-income groups of the society to access justice.
Adetayo said the introduction of the bondsmen would eliminate the activities of fake and touts masquerading as professional bondsmen and other malpractices as well as generate employment for the people.