A biometric-enabled bail verification system is being deployed in five states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to curb the activities of professional sureties, strengthen judicial accountability and improve access to justice.
The system, known as Bail Information Management System (BIMS), is designed to enable courts to verify the identities of individuals standing as sureties for defendants and track their bail records to identify those repeatedly securing bail for different suspects.
Chief Executive Officer of Global T&T New Solutions Limited, Mr Musbau Famuyiwa, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on Thursday.
Famuyiwa said the system, developed by the Nigerian LegalTech company, was integrated with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database to enable courts to authenticate the identities of sureties appearing before them.
He explained that the platform would help expose professional sureties who allegedly use false names, addresses and bank statements to secure bail for defendants, sometimes charging exorbitant fees for their services.
“Now the court will know the true identity of this person. That is what it does. The court will now decide whether they want to grant bail or not,” he said.
According to him, the system would encourage defendants to present genuine family members as sureties rather than depend on professional sureties who sometimes fail to appear in court when cases come up for hearing.
He said BIMS was currently being piloted in Abia, Plateau, Anambra, Delta and Edo states, as well as the FCT.
The system has been installed in Umuahia, Jos, Onitsha, Asaba, Benin and Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, respectively.
Famuyiwa said the installation exercise began in July and was completed on Sept. 24, 2026, starting with the FCT and ending in Anambra.
He said the pilot project was sponsored by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme in partnership with the judiciaries of the participating states.
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The CEO expressed optimism that the pilot programme would encourage the participating states to extend the system to other judicial districts, adopting the Lagos model.
He added that the initiative was expected to strengthen bail administration, promote transparency in judicial processes and contribute to reducing overcrowding in correctional facilities by improving access to bail for eligible defendants.
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