Legal Aid Council Urges Nigerians to Take advantage of Its Free Legal Services

 

Its Director-General, Mrs. Joy Bob-Manuel, made the call when she spoke journalists.

She said the Legal Aid Council was specifically set up by government to render legal aid and access to justice to indigent Nigerians.

``I want Nigerians to know that there is a government intervention in making access to justice easy. Everybody has a right to a lawyer or to legal advice,

``The problem is that most Nigerians do not know their right, if they do they are too busy to take advantage and what happens is that they allow things to go beyond repairs sometimes before they seek the help of a lawyer.

``So we are using the News Agency of Nigeria and we are going to partner with it to continue to bring this to the knowledge of Nigerians all over Nigeria that Legal Aid Council is your friend, legal aid is your entitlement.’’

Bob-Manuel said that the council was working hard to take legal aid to the grass roots in line with its mandate.

``Please, we have offices all over Nigeria, in all the state capitals; we are even going further to local governments.

``As we speak we have opened law centres in about 11 local governments and we want you to take advantage, just as the Judiciary is opening Magistrates Courts, High Courts all over the place, we are trying to be close to the people,

``Please this is a call, a campaign that you have a right to legal aid, take advantage of it, don’t go to  where people will charge you if you don’t have the money come to us and we will let you know the next step to take in your matter.’’

She said the Legal Aid Council was in the process of increasing its advocacy and enlightenment campaigns across the country so as to inform Nigerians on its activities and how they could benefit from them.

She said the council was partnering with the police, law firms, the NYSC and other stakeholders to ensure the speedy dispensation of justice in Nigeria.

Bob-Manuel, however, stressed the need for more funds for the council in order to meet its mandate and noted that the Council was in the process of applying for the apprenticeship scheme fund through which young lawyers would be recruited to render free services.

The Legal Aid Council was established pursuant to the promulgation of the Legal Aid Decree No. 56 of 1976 to render legal aid and access to justice to Nigerians.

The decree was amended by Cap 205, 1990 Laws of the Federation which later became the Legal Aid Act Cap. L9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.