The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) has deployed 50 police duty solicitors to police stations across Nigeria to provide immediate legal representation for indigent suspects.

The move is aimed at curbing unlawful detention and reducing the number of people entering correctional centres.

The lawyers, stationed in 50 police stations, provide free legal assistance to suspects at the point of arrest, helping to prevent unnecessary detention before cases progress to correctional facilities.

The initiative was one of the major achievements unveiled on Friday in Abuja at the closeout of the Reforming Pretrial Detention Phase II Project, implemented by PPDC with support from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

Speaking at the event themed, “Sustaining Justice Sector Reforms: Celebrating Impact, Partnerships and the Future of Pretrial Justice in Nigeria,” PPDC Chief Executive Officer, Lucy James Abagi, said the project had made measurable contributions to criminal justice reform by expanding legal aid, strengthening justice institutions and deploying technology to improve case management.

She described the police duty solicitor scheme as one of the project’s most impactful interventions.

“The project supported about 50 police duty solicitors who are also lawyers to be stationed across 50 police stations,” she said.

According to her, the lawyers provide on-the-spot legal representation for people who cannot afford legal services, helping to reduce unnecessary police detention and the number of suspects transferred to correctional centres.

Abagi said the three-year project covered Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Adamawa and the Federal Capital Territory, with the primary goal of reducing the country’s growing population of awaiting trial inmates.

She disclosed that PPDC had supported more than 16,000 awaiting trial inmates through paralegal services and pro bono legal representation, enabling many of them to appear in court and have their cases heard.

The organisation also partnered with the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee, Chief Judges and magistrates to improve the administration of justice across the participating states.

Abagi said over 200 lawyers volunteered their time and expertise to provide free legal services to inmates who had no access to legal representation.

“They have given their time, resources and intellectual capacity to ensure Nigerians held in correctional centres are not denied justice,” she said.

The project further supported the offices of Chief Judges by introducing electronic filing and case management systems to improve scheduling, case tracking and judicial notifications.

Court registries also received equipment to improve administrative efficiency.

Although the project has formally ended, Abagi assured stakeholders that PPDC would continue supporting justice sector reforms.

“We will continue to support the justice system, the correctional system and the police,” she said.

She added, “We will continue to utilise our pro bono lawyers and PDSS structures to ensure everyone has equal access to justice.”

Also speaking, PPDC’s Head of Programmes, Chimezie Aniekwe, said the project’s success was driven by collaboration with key institutions, including the Ministry of Justice, the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee, the Nigerian Correctional Service, the police and legal aid organisations.

He noted that the project combined interventions at police stations and correctional centres to tackle the causes of prolonged pretrial detention.

According to him, PPDC’s pool of pro bono lawyers regularly reviewed inmates’ cases, while police duty solicitors provided early legal support at police stations to prevent unnecessary detention.

Aniekwe said the organisation was determined to sustain the gains recorded under the project instead of allowing the reforms to fade after donor funding ends.

“One of the challenges with many projects is that institutions abandon the structures after implementation,” he said.

“What we are doing now is developing a sustainability framework to ensure the systems, partnerships and deployments continue to serve citizens.”

PPDC Programme Officer, Onyeka Oduye, said the project focused on both legal aid and strengthening the technological capacity of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

She explained that correctional facilities received alternative power supply systems, desktop computers and other equipment to ensure uninterrupted use of the Correctional Information Management System.

Reflecting on the project, Oduye said its greatest impact was restoring hope to families separated by prolonged detention.

“We have achieved a lot with the resources available to us. Today, the Nigerian Correctional Service is better equipped, our pro bono lawyers and law students have gained valuable experience, and many families have been reunited with their loved ones through access to justice,” she said. (Guardian)

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