‘It’s unreasonable for a judge to grant bail to a man who stole billions,’ Lawyer says

Prominent lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has said that it is unreasonable for a judge to grant bail to someone who stole billions but refuse bail to a young man forced to become an armed robber due to unemployment.

Falana also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release formerNational Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, who has been charged with corruption, and Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu, as ordered by the courts

The legal practitioner made the comments during a recent interview with Punch.

Excerpts below:

Has the President Muhammadu Buhari administration shown respect for the rule of law — considering the continued incarceration of Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu?

You cannot judge the human rights record of the Buhari administration on the basis of the detention of a couple of criminal suspects. To the best of my knowledge, President Buhari has never ordered the military invasion of any community or illegal demolition of the homes of the poor.

But having promised to end impunity, he has a duty to call every security agency to order whenever the rights of Nigerians are violated. Citizens can be rearrested as many times as possible if there is a reasonable suspicion that they have committed criminal offences.

But once such suspects are charged and granted bail by a court of competent jurisdiction, the order should be obeyed. If the government is aggrieved or dissatisfied with the order releasing any criminal suspect on bail, it can challenge the order at the Court of Appeal. Honestly, I sympathise with the government.

What do you mean by saying that you sympathise with the government?

This is because a few members of the legal profession have consistently pampered the ruling class to manipulate the criminal justice system. It is so bad now that only the poor are railroaded to jail.

It can be very frustrating that bail is generously granted by judges to those who commit the worst cases of armed robbery. There is no serious government that will not be embarrassed by what has emerged as judicial cover for big-time crooks.

Our judges are yet to appreciate that we are dealing with the worst form of corruption, which is ‘family corruption’. By which I mean the act of charging parents and children with stealing. It is the first time that a father and his children are sharing the same dock for allegedly looting the public treasury.

Are you suggesting that people standing trial for corruption should not be granted bail?

As far as I am concerned, it is illogical for a judge to grant bail to a man or woman who stole billions of naira meant for job creation only to turn round and refuse bail to a young man forced to engage in armed robbery due to unemployment.

We are compelled to remind our judges that between 2003 and 2007, no politically-exposed person charged to court by the EFCC was granted bail in Nigeria. Go and check the record. A former governor, who was put on trial, was not granted bail.

Before our very eyes, Justice Marcel Awokulehin, now retired, freed the accused and dismissed the 170-count filed against Ibori. But nemesis caught up with him in Dubai —from where he was deported to London — to the eternal shame of our country. I want to believe the government is worried that the law is being twisted, once again, to accommodate the criminality of the ruling class.

What do you advise the FG to do on Dasuki and Kanu?

Both Dasuki and Kanu were granted bail. (The Federal Government should) release them on bail or charge them to court without any further delay as one bail does not cover all criminal offences.