Inside the Kirikiri prison in Lagos Nigeria are about 3000 inmates and 75% of them are awaiting trial.Kudus Abiodun who has been in prison for 3years for an alleged crime of stealing a mobile phone worth $30 is one of the 51 identified inmates who have spent between 1-5 years awaiting trial.They are unjustly imprisoned, poor and cannot afford legal representation. Donation towards this project will provide these 51 inmates with legal aid, ensure their freedom and reunite them with their families
In 2021, Headfort Foundation's team met Rasheed Adetunji at Kirikiri prison, he had not been to court for three years and had spent six years in prison for a crime he knew nothing about. This is one out of the 75% of 3020 inmates in Kirikiri prison awaiting trial. This prison was built to accommodate 900 inmates but currently houses 3020 inmates. Due to this congestion, rehabilitation by the prison officials has become impossible and inmates come out of prison worse than they go in.
This project will provide legal aid for 51 poor and unjustly incarcerated inmates who lacks the financial resources to contract a lawyer. The lawyer would represent them and ensure their freedom from prison. This number represent 1.6% reduction in prison population. This project promotes fair trial and hearing in justice delivery and upholds the human rights of the inmates.
The problem of lack of access to justice will be solved by this project. 51 poor inmates will be represented by qualified and experienced lawyers. Upon release, they will be reintegrated back into the community, reunite with their families, contributes to their families' economic stability and the Gross Domestic Product of country, Nigeria.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
