Nigerian human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has asserted that the bail condition for releasing the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, from police custody had been declared illegal.
Naija News reported that Sowore, after honouring the Nigeria Police invitation on Monday, was asked to produce a level 16 civil servant and surrender his international passport as a condition for his bail.
However, Sowore outrightly rejected the bail condition and opted to remain in custody.
Subsequently, Sowore disclosed in a social media post that the Deputy Inspector-General of Police at FID, Dasuki Galandachi, informed him of a bail offer pending the conclusion of investigations.
According to Sowore, the condition has been slashed to only a surety of level 16 civil servant.
However, his lawyer, Falana, in a letter to the Nigeria Police, said the bail condition had earlier been declared illegal by the Court of Appeal.
He said, “Thanks for reducing the bail condition of Mr Omoyele Sowore to a surety of level 16.
“However, I wish to point out that such bail condition has been declared illegal by the Court of Appeal in the case of Dasuki V. Director-General, S.S.S. [2020]10 NWLR PT.1731 PG. 136-143 where Adah JCA (now JSC) held as follows: “Let me quickly say that of concern it is to us that as a court we must be ready and sensitive enough not to allow or do anything that will run foul of the law.
“The issue of involving civil servants or Public Officers in the Public Service of the Federation and the State in bail of people accused of criminal offences has never been the practice in Nigeria or any part of the civilized world.
“It was an oversight on our part to allow it in. Our Civil and Public Service Rules do not have any room for it. Expecting a Level 16 Servant to own property worth N100,000,000, will be running counter to the Public Service Rules and by extension the war against corruption.
“It is in this respect that I will act ex debito justitiae to ensure that the aspect of involving serving Public Servant below the status of Level 16 Officer in either the state or Public Service of the Federation or any of its agencies be removed and I so order.”
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