Barrister Atanda Olatunji, a Nigerian lawyer and founder of The People’s Parliament Facebook page where he educates the public on legal matters, has reacted to the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja to grant bail to Blord on Friday, April 17.
Blord had spent 15 days in detention at Kuje prison after being arraigned on April 1 over allegations of criminal conspiracy, impersonation, and the unauthorised use of the image of social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan.
Following the court’s ruling, Barrister Atanda took to his Facebook page to explain the conditions attached to the bail.
He stated that Blord was granted bail on self-recognizance but was required to submit his international passport to the court.
Explaining the legal meaning, the lawyer noted that bail on self-recognizance allows Blord to regain his freedom without the need for sureties or the payment of any bail bond.
He added that it also reflects the court’s view of him as a prominent individual whose presence can be trusted without additional guarantees.
In his words:
“Bail has been granted to Blord on self-recognizance.
“However, the court ordered that he deposit his international passport as part of his bail condition.
“What does it mean to be granted bail of self-recognizance under Nigerian law?
“This means, Blord will be released without any need for people to stand for him as surety or any bail bond amount like millions of Naira as bail bond.
“The court recognise him as prominent citizen with high social standing, whose presence alone is considered guaranteed…”
Barrister Atanda further explained that as part of the conditions, Blord is restricted from travelling out Nigeria for now since his passport remains with the court.
He added that the passport can only be temporarily released if there is a compelling reason, such as medical needs or urgent business, and even then, it would be subject to specific conditions set by the court.
“But Blord will not be able to travel out of Nigeria for now cos he will drop his international passport with the court.
“He can only get back his international passport when there is a compelling reason like Medical Reasons or very Urgent Business reason, but the court will give him one or two conditions before the court will release his international passport back to him.
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse,” the lawyer concluded.
See the post below:
