A Non-Governmental Organisation has conducted a legal aid clinic for people living with disabilities in Lagos State.
The programme, aimed at rendering free legal help to the less privileged in Lagos State, kicked off at Igbogbo, Ikorodu, with several vulnerable people in attendance.
“One of the activities under this project is to organise awareness and legal aid clinics in communities around Lagos. Vulnerable persons who are arrested are not expected to be detained in the police stations; especially after the Inspector General of Police’s order on detention”
Speaking at the Programme, the Executive Director, Community Women’s Right Foundation, Comrade Lateef Akinborode, said the programme was orchestrated out of the determination to help the less privileged to overcome legal tussle during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Akinborode, who was perturbed by the number of vulnerable people in police cells in Lagos, said, “A major focus of the project is the provision of legal assistance to women, people living with disabilities.
The legal assistance will be provided by volunteers, comprising lawyers under the Police Duty Solicitors Scheme (PDSS) and other volunteers.
“One of the activities under this project is to organise awareness and legal aid clinics in communities around Lagos. Vulnerable persons who are arrested are not expected to be detained in the police stations; especially after the Inspector General of Police’s order on detention”
He added, “During the lockdown restriction, there was a reported increase in infringements of rights in many communities.
It is on this premise that the partners agreed to organise awareness and legal aid clinics in communities around Lagos state.
This programme will provide access to legal assistance to indigent and vulnerable persons – women, children and Persons Living with Disability (PLWD) at the community level for free.”
Meanwhile, the Director, Right Enforcement and Public Law Center, Felistas Aigbogun, has called on people living with disabilities to take advantage of the legal clinic to resolve their challenges.
According to her, a large number of people living with disabilities have issues to sort out legally without the capability to hire a legal officer.
She said, “We are currently implementing a project on access to legal services for vulnerable persons. Under this project, we are concerned about how women, children and people living with disabilities can access justice mechanism.
“We are looking at how they can get to the police station and get attended to; we are looking at the kind of issues they are having in their places of work, in communities, that are legal in nature. If they cannot afford the services of a lawyer, we are providing this service for them free of charge.”
