Toyin Omoniyi I had always heard that bail is free. They sing it everywhere like a broken record. Even in law school, they told us over and over again that you do not have to pay for bail.
So it came as a rude shock to me when I left school to face the real world and realized that free bail only exists in theory. From police bail to court bail, nothing is free.
I was representing a client in a criminal matter who by all indications had not committed the crime he was being accused of. After applying for his bail which was granted, we ensured we got the necessary sureties and fulfilled all the bail conditions.
Armed with all the required papers, I met with the registrar of the court so that the papers could be signed and my client could be released. And then, they asked for N15,000. “Which one is N15,000 again?”, I asked. All the bail conditions had been met so what was the money for? The registrars looked at me like I was the crazy person and said that is the way, you either pay the money or the papers will not be signed.
The irony of it all was that the words “BAIL IS FREE” were boldly displayed all over the courtroom. If it wasn’t so serious, it would have been funny. The unfortunate part was it was a Friday so if my client wasn’t released that day, he would get to spend the weekend in a prison cell.
After reality dawned on me and I realized there will be no release without paying any money of which his freedom was paramount, negotiations set in. We eventually agreed on N10,000 but since I was not prepared for this, I had to rally around for the money. After lots of rigmarole, I succeeded in getting the money but on getting back to the court, the registrar said the magistrate had gone and papers could not be signed.
Magistrate had gone? To where? At 1p.m? What will happen to a presumed innocent man whose freedom was at stake?
Anyway, long story short, my client stayed in the prison cell till Monday.
So, I ask again, BAIL IS FREE - a fact or a fallacy?
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