By Eucharia Bennybonny
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The Nigeria Police is good if you encounter the reasonable and cultured ones among them. But the bad eggs in the Police should be everybody’s prayer point every day. Pray not to be caught on the wrong side of the law. Pray that you do not walk into their nets, especially on Fridays. “Thank God it’s Friday” is not a celebratory statement if the Police invites or arrests you on a Friday. Bail is free only on paper. They know that Nigerians fear Police detention from Friday to the following Monday (in a stuffy Police Cell, stinking from the stench of faeces and urine) and would verily comply with whatever financial demands.
When you are charged to court by the Police, it means that the Police have allegedly investigated you and found a reason why you should be brought and tried before a court of Law. It also means that you could not settle with the Complainant. From that moment, you need to call your family and friends to come with certain documents and money because it is certain you will not be coming back to your house that same day, except in very rare circumstances. This is why you should not undermine the necessity for the services of a Lawyer even before you are taken to the Police Station. Your Lawyer would work in your best interest to ensure amicable, full and final settlement at the Police where necessary.
The IPO (Investigative Police Officer) wields so much power in your case. He or she can do and undo. You must therefore watch out against these 5 manipulations when you are being charged for a crime in a Magistrates’ Court:
- PROVIDING A LAWYER FOR THE ACCUSED: Avoid police-provided Lawyers. This usually comes with a promise to mitigate the severity of the accused person’s charge(s) and to arraign him before a favourable magistrate. But it has been proven that such arrangements do not favour the accused person in any way. The IPO in most cases, have vested interest when he provides you with his own private lawyer. He gets his own percentage from those lawyers and the cost is usually very high at the expense of the accused person. The basic truth that should settle in your mind is that once you have been brought to court, the Police have no powers over you to determine who becomes your lawyer. Therefore, do not let them use you. Get your own lawyer who should provide you with effective representation and fight for your rights. The Police-provided lawyer may not prioritize your best interest. They may be more concerned in catching more briefs from their “contractors” than in ensuring your best interest. It is better, cheaper, better and non-stressful for you to contact a nearby private lawyer or ask for referrals from trusted friends.
- PROVIDING SURETIES FOR THE ACCUSED PERSON FROM THE COURT PREMISES: “Professional Sureties” are not Licensed Bondsmen. They do not have your best interest at heart. They are found all around the court premises and are just there to make money. They are ready to even slash their prices just to lure you to get started with them first. Later, they’ll begin to spring scary surprises on you until you become helpless and breakdown in tears. These Professional Sureties use fake and cloned documents. They provide fake addresses and would not in any way want to be liable if the accused fails to be present in court. Moreover, they know they will be rejected by the Magistrate during interview because they are regular faces around the court. To be successful in bail applications, it is better to use reasonable family relations as sureties.
- DISTORTING AND FALSIFYING THE AGE OF THE SUSPECT OR THE DATE, TIME AND LOCATION OF THE CRIME: Age falsification is fast becoming a tool of persecution in most charge sheets that involve a minor who looks more mature than his or her age. When the Police wants to curry favour with the Complainant and to punish the accused person, they falsify some information on the Charge Sheet because the information in the Charge Sheet and the available proofs of evidence go a long way to determine the remand/detention Centre for the accused person. It is therefore very important to bring these anomalies to the notice of the court upon arraignment. Also, the accused Minor should ensure his Birth Certificate is brought to the Court upon arraignment.
When the age an accused minor is falsified to represent him or her as 18 years or above, such minor will face stricter bail conditions and will be remanded in Prison custody alongside adults. This will potentially damage the Minor’s emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing. Correction/Rehabilitation Centres are where the minor ought to be remanded. A 17-year-old young male orphan was remanded in Prison Custody on trumped up theft charges from the Chief Security Officer of the Estate where he was living with his old grandparents. He had stayed in Prison for almost a year before the truth finally surfaced. He was released but nobody paid for that wickedness.
When the location of a crime is falsified, it would negatively impact on the accused’s ability to secure bail easily. The accused person would not be able to get Sureties within the Court’s Jurisdiction to secure his or her bail. It is better to raise the objection in court.
- FALSELY REPORTING THAT THE COMPLAINANT/WITNESS IS IN COURT WHEN HE OR SHE IS NOT: The Complainant’s presence in court on the date of arraignment of the accused person will impose stricter bail conditions on the accused. His presence in court shows how serious he is in pursuing the case against the accused. To attract difficult bail conditions for the accused, the prosecutor may just inform the court “Your Honour, the complainant is in Court” and some Magistrates do not even bother to verify if the person standing is truly the complainant or somebody else. You must find a way to notify your Lawyer that the Complainant is not in court if he truly is not in court.
- PROMISING THE SUSPECT FREEDOM AND PRESSURIZING HIM TO PLEAD GUILTY TO THE CHARGES: Influencing or coercing suspects to plead guilty to the charge(s) is fastest way to nail the accused and send him to jail, especially where he actually didn’t commit the crime he is charged with. It is most advisable to plead “not guilty” and allow the prosecution proof his case. However, if your conscience bears you witness that you are indeed guilty, please tell the whole truth and be prepared to face the consequences.
EUCHARIA BENNYBONNY is a Legal Practitioner based in Ikeja, Lagos State. She can be reached on 08066053162, ukbenny3@gmail.com for more information/help.
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Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACIarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
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