Lagos CJ Laments Absence Of Licensed Bondsmen To Bail Defendants

The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Opeyemi Oke on Tuesday
lamented no individual or corporate body has applied to be licensed
bondsman and bonds companies 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 bondmen 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 from
trials.

Justice Oke disclosed this in an address delivered at a
“Stakeholders’ Summit on Actualizing The Law on the Bondsmen and
Recovery of Recognizance in Lagos State”.

The event also marked the inauguration of Practice Direction for
the scheme.

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 seamlessly as and when needed
in court.

She expressed confidence that the bondsperson scheme will
significantly reduce prison congestion and other problems
associated with same, while also ensuring that recognizance can be
recovered in full where persons on bail abscond.

She encouraged interested individuals and corporate bodies to
make necessary applications to join and partner with the Lagos
State Judiciary on actualizing the scheme emphasizing that it has
been proven in other jurisdictions that the professional bail
bondsman brings important benefits to the society in which he
works.

She explained that Section 138 (8) of the ACJL confers on the
bondsperson the power of arrest should a defendant attempt to
abscond.

She said: “Every Bondsperson 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 the United States, bail bondsmen play an important role in
maintaining social control over bailed defendants.

“The bondsman and the defendant form a contract in which the
bail bondsman agrees, for a fee, to act as the defendant’s surety.
In addition to paying the fee, the defendant agrees to appear in
court for all scheduled appearances.

A ten-man committee headed by Justice Grace Onyeabo was set up
February, 27 last year with a mandate to find ways to actualise the
recommendations of the Committee on Creation of Bondsmen and
Recovery of Recognizance set up November 30, 2012.

In his lecture titled, “A Practical Approach to the Bondmen
Procedure in the Justice System in Lagos State”, a bail bond
expert, Dr Seyi Adetayo, remarked bondsmen practice has not only
helped defendants to access bail but also assisted low income group
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 and generate employment to the
people.