The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has reviewed its guidelines on arrest and bail procedures for suspects.
This was contained in a statement yesterday by the Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.
According to Oyewale, the review, which was premised on the need to adhere to the rule of law and international best practices in the treatment of suspects, was rolled out on Monday, October 31, across all the Commission’s commands.
He noted that in the new guideline, premium attention was focused on the rights of suspects, particularly as it affects arrest, detention and bail issues.”Operational activities are to be tailored towards relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999( as amended), the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2011 and the EFCC’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
“Specifically, operatives of the Commission are not allowed to demand for professional certificates of sureties as a bail condition.
Also, every demand for international passport of suspects would, henceforth, be exercised with discretion, depending on the nature of the case, personality and country of residence of the suspect,” he said.
Director, Legal and Prosecution Department of the Commission, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, cautioned that, “Bail conditions served on suspects must be reasonable and practicable to be fulfilled by suspects and their sureties. Detention of suspects without a remand warrant for unreasonable length of time beyond the constitutionally allowed period must, henceforth, stop forthwith.”
He warned personnel of the Commission against unwarranted violation of the rights of suspects, even as he called for professionalism in all operational activities. He said: “It is time to have a paradigm shift and change the narrative. Henceforth, professionalism shall be the watchword. Let’s follow the best international standards worth our identity as a flagship law enforcement agency.”