Prison decongestion: NYSC lawyers to provide legal aid for awaiting trial detainees —NYSC boss

AS part of its effort at ensuring prison decongestion in the country, the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Sulaiman Kazaure, on Thursday, said, Corps lawyers under the Corps Legal Aid Scheme would render free legal services to awaiting trial detainees.

He said the corps members would carry out litigations on behalf of the accused, standing trials for minor criminal offences.

Kazaure made the disclosure at a one-day workshop, for legal officers and corps lawyers in the NYSC, held at the NYSC permanent orientation camp, Keffi, Nasarawa State.

He said these legal services; also include the payment of court fines, for prison inmates, to regain their freedom, and also carry out public enlightenment programmes on legal matters among others.

According to him, the objective of setting up the corps Legal Aid Scheme was to support government’s efforts at prison’s decongestion.

“There is no doubt that the objective of setting up the CLAS has been largely achieved, through many successes so far recorded.

It has been in the forefront of complementing government’s efforts at prisons decongestion, through offer of free legal services to awaiting trial detainees, and paying the fines of inmates, to secure their release as well as their counseling and reformation, “This workshop is therefore organised to consolidate on the gains so far made,” he added.

Also, Director, Legal services, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, in his lecture themed: Functions of The Lawyer in The Public Service, explained that, Corps members are public officers by virtue of the protection they enjoy under the, “Public officers protection Act, Cap.P41, Laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004.”

He said the workshop was organised to create more awareness, on the enormous responsibility and role of the public service lawyer, in providing diligent legal services.