Lawyer Ernestina Obboh Botchwey has stated that standing in as a surety so that someone accused of an offence can get bail means that you owe the State or Government when the person runs away or absconds and you are unable to bring the person to the police or court when they demand that you do so.

Speaking on her YouTube channel, Lawyer Tina, on the issue of standing surety and its consequences, she explained that one can lose their property or money if they stand in as a surety for a person who runs away or goes into hiding such that when the court or police need him/her, the who one has stood as surety, cannot bring the person to them.

“If you stand in as a surety for someone, what does that mean? It means you have entered into a contract with the Government that whenever you need this guy, I will bring this person to you, to the police station or the Court. So anytime the court needs the person, and the person does not come – the accused person or the person charged with an offence does not come – it means that you owe the government,” she noted.

She then expatiated further that the amount one owes the government depends on the amount the person has been granted bail to the tune of.

“So if the person was granted bail to the tune of Ghc100,000 and you stood in as a surety, you owe the government Ghc100,000 if you fail to produce the person”, she revealed.

“How much you owe the government will be dependent on how much was placed on the bail. So if they say that this person has been granted bail to the tune of a hundred thousand Ghana Cedis, and you went in to sign as surety for the person, it means that when the person runs away, they will come for and get you and your property. So you will use your property to pay for the 100,000 Ghana Cedis to the state. So if you give your land documents to the person, it means that you’re telling us that we can sell your land. If you give your payslip, you’re showing the government where they can get your money in case the person runs,” she stressed.

Ernestina Obboh Botchwey, who works as an Assistant Public Defender at the Legal Aid Commission, has been keen on providing free legal education to the public through her YouTube channel and other social media.