The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has warned that police officers who demand or collect money for bail, as well as Nigerians who offer such payments, risk arrest and prosecution.
The warning was delivered by the Head of the Police Complaint Response Unit (CRU), SP Fidelis Awu, during a sensitisation rally organised in collaboration with the Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative (ECAPI) in Lagos.
He reiterated that police bail is free and that neither suspects nor their relatives are expected to pay money to secure the release of an arrested person.
Awu urged Nigerians to report officers who demand money for bail rather than participate in the practice, adding that complaints against police personnel would be investigated and disciplinary action taken against officers found guilty of misconduct.
