At 10am yesterday 10th September, 2021, I got a call for assistance. A woman had been detained at Zone 2 Police HQ, Lagos since Monday because she stood surety for her twin sons and they had both jumped bail. I called Adebayo Akinlade and he immediately swung into action.
Mr. Akinlade is the Convener of the Police Duty Solicitors Network (PDSS), an organisation that seeks to have lawyers available at police stations in Nigeria to advise and represent citizens. Within minutes, the State Coordinator of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria had been informed and deployed a lawyer to visit Zone 2 in respect of the matter. Members of the NBA Lagos Branch Human Rights Committee and other NBA branches in Lagos State were informed and reached out to their contacts at Zone 2. These Lagos State branch members also spoke about the matter on their social media handles.
As a result of the pressure and unwelcome attention, the woman's lawyer was called to come to Zone 2 with a surety to effect her release.
Result!! A big thank you to Mr. Akinlade, everyone in the Police Duty Solicitors Scheme and the network of volunteers and supporters for ensuring she did not spend another day in custody.
However, I could not stop thinking about the many hundreds, even thousands languishing in police detention across the nation without access to a lawyer or because they are unable to meet the bail conditions ("level 14 civil servant!").
The Police Duty Solicitor Scheme needs donations (financial and in kind) to facilitate logistics for lawyers going to the police stations.
If you would like to join the Police Duty Solicitor Scheme as a lawyer, volunteer or supporter please get in touch with Adebayo Akinlade +2348065172866 or 09054832930.
Bunmi Ibraheem
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