*PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE BODY OF VICE CHAIRMEN (BOVC)*

 *PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE BODY OF VICE CHAIRMEN (BOVC)*

Honestly, what is happening to our justice system?

The case of our colleague, Chinedu Agu, should trouble anyone who still believes that the courts are the last hope of the common man.

A lawyer, one of us, is charged under the Cybercrimes Act, yet brought before a Magistrate Court that clearly has no jurisdiction whatsoever under Section 251(1)(p) of the Constitution. Everyone in that courtroom, the prosecutor, the defence, and most painfully, the Magistrate, knew this.

Still, he was remanded, and the matter adjourned for over a month “for DPP’s advice.”

A man with a known address.

A lawyer who had already been granted police bail.

And for what offence? Cyberbullying!

If this can happen to a lawyer, what chance does the ordinary Nigerian have?

The real problem now is not only with the overzealous security operatives, we know their tendencies. The deeper rot is that some judicial officers have become willing tools in the hands of oppressors.

How does a Magistrate remand someone in a matter that the law says you have no power to touch?

How do you aid the violation of liberty you are sworn to protect?

At what point did the courtroom, our sanctuary, become an extension of the detention cell?

When a court acts without jurisdiction, its actions are null. Yet, people are losing their freedom every day to illegal remand orders signed in air-conditioned chambers by judicial officers who should know better. That is not mere error, that is betrayal of the judicial oath.

Enough is enough.

The Bench must take responsibility. The Judicial Service Commissions and the NJC cannot keep turning a blind eye while liberty is traded for convenience.

A Magistrate’s seat is not a clerk’s desk.

The gavel is not for oppression.

Let it be said clearly, we cannot continue like this. The Body of Vice Chairmen will continue to speak against these abuses, not just because Chinedu Agu is one of us, but because this is how justice dies, quietly, one unlawful remand at a time.

Enough is truly enough. The courts must choose what they want to be, the temple of justice or the warehouse of tyranny.

Olajide Abiodun. Np.

Chairman, Body of Vice Chairmen (BOVC)

19th October 2025

When Bail Becomes a Privilege: Rethinking Judicial Discretion and Constitutional Rights

When Bail Becomes a Privilege: Rethinking Judicial Discretion and Constitutional Rights

By Olajide Abiodun, Notary Public

Vice Chairman, NBA Ikorodu Branch & Head, Human Rights Committee. Chairman BOVC.

10/10/2025.

The recent report on the continued detention of Mr. Agu and the court’s directive requiring his legal team to file a written address on the competence of a bail application in the absence of a formal charge is both troubling and symptomatic of a deeper malaise in our justice system.

It begs the question: What manner of judiciary are we running when the defence must struggle to justify a constitutional right as fundamental as bail?

Bail, by every constitutional and legal standard, is not a privilege. It is a right that flows directly from the presumption of innocence guaranteed under Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The philosophy is simple, until proven guilty, every citizen is deemed innocent, and that presumption cannot coexist with prolonged detention without charge.

The Supreme Court and our criminal jurisprudence have repeatedly affirmed that it is not the duty of the accused to “apply” for bail as if seeking favour. Rather, it is for the prosecution to show cause why the defendant should not be released pending trial. Anything contrary to that principle not only offends the Constitution but also erodes public confidence in the administration of justice.

To detain a citizen for 18 days without a charge, while requiring the defence to make written submissions for bail, is a mockery of due process. It reduces the courts to instruments of technical delay rather than sanctuaries of liberty.

The judiciary must resist every temptation to become comfortable with practices that violate fundamental rights. The duty of the Judex is not only to interpret the law but also to protect the weak from the abuse of state power.

The time has come for a systemic reawakening, where bail is seen not as a concession of mercy but as a constitutional command, and where judicial officers uphold the law with courage and fidelity to the Constitution.

Justice delayed is justice denied; but when liberty is delayed without lawful justification, it becomes injustice institutionalised.