Legal Aid Council and inmates’ representation

By Amaka Agbaih

The legal Aid council under the watch of Aliyu Abubakar as Director-General visited Keffi custodial center and interviewed a total number of 78 Awaiting Trails Inmates for representation in various courts within Nasarawa State and Federal Capital Territory. This is in fulfillment of the council’s mandate of given sucour to the vocieless and indigent citizens of the country who cannot afford the services of private practitioners.

The team to the Keffi custodial center was led by Mr. Francis Johnson, a Deputy Director in Criminal Justice Department. The cases loaded for representation ranges from Robbery, Rape, Theft , culpable homicide and so on. On arrival in Keffi, the team held a brief meeting with the Officer in charge of the Keffi Custodial Center. The Officer in charge recalled Legal Aid council (LAC) last visit to the custodial center and the positive impact it had on the center. He went further to say that it was a huge success because it decongested the center considering the number of the inmates that was released as a result of their visit.

The officer equally said that he has been expecting the council visit as there are already many indigent citizens that need the services of the council and therefore implore the team to be coming often while trusting in God that the level of crime which is on the increase will soon reduce drastically. Responding the leader of the Legal Aid Council team thanked him for the cordial relationship that exist between the council and the custodial center and assured him that the council will always be available whenever their presence is needed pointing out that in spite of the shortage of funds the council is battling with, the Director General still tries his best to see that LAC delivers on her mandate.

Recall that the Director General of Legal Aid Council (LAC) some couple of months ago was in Keffi custodial center with some of his management team to find out those victims that were arrested and detained during the Nations wide End SARs protest without trails. During the visit, the Director General participated in interviewing the victims. After the exercise, the council dialogued with the relevant stakeholders in the justice sector and thereafter, a panel was set up and after due process the detained victims were tried and a good number of them were released.

The Awaiting Trials Inmates remain a major reason why various custodial centers across the country suffer congestion that is overcrowding in a lay man’s language .The question is what are the causes of overcrowding in our nations custodial centers, what are the remedies? The Chief Executive of LAC in one of his interviews with the media on congestion of custodial center did say that more than 50% of inmates In our custodial centers across the country are not supposed to be in prisons reason being that many Nigerians are ignorant of their rights either as an inmate awaiting trials, or a convict likewise the relations of the inmates.

Nigerians he said should understand that as citizens they cannot be held by the police or other holding authorities beyond a certain period of time and that such authority must bring them before the court of law for adjudication regardless of the offences alleged to have been committed

This therefore, calls for sensitization of the masses to know what to do whenever they are at conflict with the law. The Government at all levels are trying for instance, the federal government through the office of the Honorable Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) set up a Ministerial Committee on custodial  decongestion which is headed by the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Ishaq Bello who have been going round the nations custodial centres. The ad-hoc committee has also made an impact in the area of decongesting the centers in Nigeria. Legal Aid on its own part has done a lot and will continue to do more in line with her extended mandate as provided under the revised legal Aid Act, 2011. By the act, the council services as mandated by the law are now in (3) three broad areas, namely Criminal defence services advice and Assistance in civil matters including legal representation in court and community legal services subject of course to the merits and indigence test for the parties.

Again, the police duty solicitor scheme (PDS) is the brain child of the council in partnership with the Nigeria police force to ensure that offenders in police custody do not stay beyond 24hours in arrest. For impact, the council can be reached on their dedicated lines and offices around the nation as there is a counsel assigned to take their complaints.

Moreover, the federal government should encourage and equip the relevant stakeholders practically the Nigeria Police Force so that they can have the morale strength to deliver on their mandate. The police as we all know are the first to come in contact with any person in conflict with the law.        

Regrettably, the Legal Aid Council on her part lacks manpower and the financial resources to deliver fully on her mandate. Two to Three Lawyers per State Office is not encouraging enough, no robe Allowance and other incentives that will motivate the few that are on the field. There is a limit to what the (LAC) can do without funds.

Amaka Agbaih writes in from Abuja