Accra, July 13, GNA - Dr Abdullahi Shehu, Director General, Inter-governmental Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), on Monday noted that the right to bail has not been accorded its rightful place in respect to the rule of law. He said the essence of bail condition was to preserve the right of a suspect who was deemed innocent until proved guilty, while ensuring that justice was done to the victim, adding that often this was a difficult balance to strike. Dr Abdullahi made these observations at the opening of the Second Seminar on Economic and Financial crimes for Judges of West Africa, English Speaking ECOWAS countries in Accra. He said instances abound where suspects who had stolen items sometimes worth even US$100 would be detained for several months without trial.

On the contrary, Dr Abdullahi said, chief executives of banks and public officials who had deprived shareholders and tax payers millions of dollars were allowed to plea bargain, set free and allowed to enjoy the fruit of their theft while the poor man languished in prison. He said there were occasions that suspects were given bail conditions that were beyond their reach. Dr Abdullahi gave the example of a civil servant charged with violating the tender code or procurement rules, being asked to provide a surety with assets worth millions of dollars far more than the person's salary for his or her entire career.

"This type of judicial decision has led to several persons accused of economic and financial crime offences to languish in prison custody for their inability to meet bail conditions." Dr Abdullahi noted that a layman observing these judicial decisions would think that the judiciary was encouraging suspected persons to steal in order to be able to meet stiff bail conditions. "Justice delayed is justice denied," he said, adding that there were many high profile cases of economic crime that had been in court for a long time in some countries, which could be perceived as justice denied.

Dr Abdullahi called for the overhaul of the judicial process in the sub-region in order to ensure that justice was not only a theoretical element of the judicial process but should actually be seen to be done. He said the integrity and the credibility of the judicial institution were crucial element of democracy, rule of law and overall development of a country. 13 July 09