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Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
No fewer than 2,800 defendants have been freed from Correctional Facilities in Ogun State in the last two years through the Bondsmen Scheme, the Chief Judge, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, has disclosed.
Dipeolu equally disclosed that 500 inmates have been released from all the Correctional Facilities in the State from 2018 till date.
The Chief Judge gave this disclosure in her welcome address during the first edition of the Bondsmen Stakeholders’ Forum held at the Judiciary Complex, Kobape, Abeokuta.
She explained that the Bondsmen Scheme introduced about two years ago to aid decongestion of prisons and ease bail conditions for defendants, which she said has paid off.
She said Chrysalis Bail and Bond Limited and Egba Kelisco Bail and Bond Limited were the only licensed bondsmen by the State’s Bondsman licensing Board in the last two.
“Both companies have contributed in no small measure to easing the problems of congestion at the Correctional facilities as over Two Thousand Eight Hundred Defendants (2, 800) have been freed from the Correctional facilities in Ogun State between January, 2021 and October, 2023.
“It is important that we recognize the critical role that bondsmen play in the criminal justice system. As key stakeholders and partners in progress, the bondsmen are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that individuals, accused of offenses, have the opportunity to secure their release from custody while awaiting trial. This responsibility requires a delicate balance between public safety, the protection of individual rights, and the fair administration of justice. It also relieves the burden carried by the Correctional facilities as it ameliorates the congestion problems experienced by the facilities,” the CJ said.
The Licensing Board Chairman, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi, said only 25 out of 2,800 defendants absconded and 16 were later rearrested.
“From the foregoing, it is evident that the bondsmen scheme is a valuable tool in our pursuit of a fair and compassionate justice system,” he said.
During the interactive session which involved members of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Police, Magistrates and Honourable Judges of the High Court of Ogun State, the Bonds Administrator, Oke Olakulehin emphasized that any challenges encountered with the Bonds Companies could be reported to him directly and that all complaints would be expeditiously resolved.
He remarked that “the law remains that bail terms are at the discretion of the Court and that the Bondsmen had not come to replace lawyers but to relieve the burden on legal practitioners as it concerns the perfection of the bail terms granted by the court”.
