Poor Nigerians lack access to justice – Legal Aid Council

Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja, has stated that access to justice for the poor in this country is difficult, owing to the fact that they lack the wherewithal to seek legal redress.

The Director General, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Mrs. Joy Bob-Manuelin, hinted this at a one-day National Consultative Stakeholders Workshop on Pro-bono Legal services and Para-legalism in Nigeria.

In her opening address, she emphasized that access to justice is difficult for the poor and vulnerable groups.

The DG prayed that the Nigeria Bar Association and Legal Aid Council would have a more coordinated way of collating data for a more transparent justice system.

While addressing the Nigerian Bar Association and other dignitaries present at the occasion, she said that this group of people cannot challenge their arrest, remand, trial, conviction, detention and release.

According to her, another group of people that have posed a huge challenge for the Nigerian Criminal Justice system is the Awaiting Trial Persons, ATPs.

“This group of people stay long in detention and thereby raise Constitutional, Legal as well as Administrative challenges.

“Legal Aid act of 1976 empowered the Council to represent the indigent citizens of Nigeria in court using the salaried Lawyers.

“The truth is that salaried lawyers are not enough to attend to the needs of the indigent persons in a country of over 170 million people, these results to many accused persons spending extended periods awaiting resolutions of their cases due to inadequate legal representation.” She said.

The DG further stated that it is on this premise that she is seeking the Cooperation of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, so that together they can decongest the Nigeria prisons through Pro bono services.

“The Council has already set the ball rolling as they have about 343 chambers partnering with us as at 2015.

In continuation, the Executive Director, Prisons Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, PRAWA, Yinka Lawal Esq. in his presentation, stated that the collaboration will help push forward and formalize the consultations and partnership that started years ago between the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria LACoN and the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA.

He reminded the participants that the Legal Aid Council is a key justice institution in Nigeria with a mandate to operate a scheme for the grant of Legal Aid and Access to justice in three service areas to indigent persons.

“That is: Criminal defense, Assistance in Civil matter and Community Legal service while the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA is a professional non-profit umbrella Association which comprised of all lawyers called to the Nigeria Bar and one of its cardinal objectives is to promote timely and affordable access to justice.” He said.

In conclusion, he commended the efforts of the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC for being a worthy partner and stakeholder in Nigeria Justice system.

It would be noted that the 2011 amendment Act mandated LACoN to coordinate paralegal services in Nigeria. LACoN is already building a pool of trained paralegals, as a prelude to the commencement of accreditation and training of paralegals to meet the ends of Justice in Nigeria.

To this end, LACoN is expected to drive it to a logical conclusion and ‘midwife’ an acceptable model at the end of the day.

Other dignitaries that graced the occasion were Dr. Uju Agomoh of UNODC, Prof. Ayo Atsenuwa of Faculty of Law, Lagos State University all emphasized the importance of Pro bono as a social service to the citizens of Nigeria and the need for LACoN and NBA to partner so as to move the Justice sector forward.

Also, the workshop was in collaboration with the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA) and United Nations office for Drug and Crime, UNODC, centred on Pro-bono Legal Services and Para legalism in Nigeria.