By The Public Private Development Centre (PPDC), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), has trained 40 law undergraduates of Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos to promote access to justice for indigent detainees through the creation of a law clinic.
At the capacity-building workshop, Kenechukwu Agwu, who represented PPDC CEO Lucy James Abagi, stressed the importance of law clinics in delivering legal aid and bridging justice gaps, especially for awaiting trial inmates.
“We are in the second phase of the Reforming Pre-trial Detention in Nigeria (RPDN) project,” Agwu explained. “Our work includes using paralegals and law students across 11 universities and five states. So far, over 9,350 Nigerians have received legal services since May—many of them from police stations and correctional centres.”
The initiative also aligns with the recent policy by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Council of Legal Education, which mandates all law faculties to establish functioning law clinics.
Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Chioma Kanu Agomo, praised the PPDC partnership, saying, “This is a practical step toward clinical legal education, where students directly address legal issues in society, particularly the plight of pre-trial detainees.”
Some 100- and 200-level law students expressed gratitude, calling the training both eye-opening and inspiring. They acknowledged a new sense of responsibility to enlighten their host community of Ayobo on legal rights and remedies.
Agwu concluded by encouraging other universities to reach out for technical support, reiterating PPDC’s commitment to scaling up the law clinic initiative nationwide.
