Legal Council Of Nigeria Moves Sensitization To Surulere

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

Legal Council of Nigeria has continued their sensitization and legal clinic programme as they have now moved to Surulere in Lagos State.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that they recently held the sensitization and free legal clinic at Ijesha community area of the State, where they educated the women on their rights within the ambits of the law.

The programme, embarked on in collaboration with the British Council and European Union, was well attended by women especially the vulnerable, who benefited from the programme.

The Lagos State Coordinator of team, Barrister (Mrs.) F.I. Akingbade, while speaking to the women said Legal Aid, a creation of the Federal Government, comprises Lawyers who offer free legal services to the people who cannot afford bills from Lawyers to pursue their rights in the society.

She said the Council was established to maintain a service to be known as the Civil Litigation Service for the purpose of assisting indigent persons to access such advice, assistance, and representation in Court, where the interest of justice demands, to secure, defend, enforce, protect or otherwise exercise any right.

Akingbade noted that some people have suffered intimidation and their rights abused because they do not have the means to fight for their rights and so they remain in agony and pains in their lives hence the Federal government found it necessary to support such people through Legal Aids.

She encouraged the women to be conscious of their rights in their various homes, relationship between landlords and tenants and society in general. She urged the women where they face challenges, they should contract legal Aids Council for assistance, which was one of the purposes it was created.

Speaking in the vein, Barr. Marian Njoku  told the women to speak up if there are abuses in their homes and area on crimes such as rape, domestic violence and other vices and educated them on the steps to take on rape victims.
She told them where there is incident of rape, they should not allow the victim to clean up because that will be the evidence that will be used to punish the perpetrator and they should go to the Police and report the matter, who will ensure arrest and prosecution for justice. 

She discouraged women not to collect any form of settlement as compensation because it will not be in the interest of the victim and society.
  On the issue of stigma, she said the matter can be handled in private at the Court once such request was made and they should not ask for settlement arrangement because the act will hurt the victims if justice did not prevail.

“If you collect money and leave the suspect, he will go back and commit the same crime in the society causing pains to the victims” Njoku said.

Another speaker, Barrister (Mrs.) Kokei E. Ogbonaya, said rape is not limited to under aged victims, stressing that adults can also be raped. She emphasized justice can be done if the victims contact the right people to pursue it and stated that it is one of the the obligations of Legal Aids.

Barr. Ogbonaya urged women to always be do the right thing when dealing with their husbands over property in order not to lose at the end.
She gave instances where women will support their husbands to acquire properties and the men get married to other women and will the property to the last wife.

She noted that there is nothing that can be done under the law if there was no evidence that she contributed money when the property was bought.
She enjoined women to make payments through Banks and keep the receipts as evidence to prove that such women contributed money when the property was bought.

The climax of the programme was legal clinic, where the team commenced legal advice on the participants, who expressed their satisfaction over the programme for creating awareness over their rights in the society.