29th November, 2010
The Lagos State Office of Public Defender, OPD, has concluded plans to defend 125 prisoners languishing in various prisons across Lagos State, southwest Nigeria in court.
The move is part of the 10th anniversary of the outfit established on 24 July, 2000 by the immediate past Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to render free legal defense to the less privileged.
At a news conference recently, the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General, Ministry of Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro, disclosed that the OPD would be visiting the prisons and would take up 125 fresh cases.
He stated that the office had often made regular visits to the Ikoyi, Kirikiri and Badagry Prisons with a view to providing legal representation to inmates who could not afford the services of private legal practitioners.
Pedro said that at the request of the OPD, the Nigeria Prison Service occasionally sent lists of inmates that need immediate legal attention to the office, adding that these cases were usually assigned to counsel in the office for legal representation in a bid to decongest the prisons.
He also disclosed that in the last 10 years, the OPD had received 4,860 criminal cases of which the office was able to get judgment for 1,985 people. These criminal matters included murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, stealing and malicious damage.
On domestic violence, he disclosed that the office had received over 2,653 cases.
In the area of children in conflict with the law, Pedro said that “to date, OPD has received 264 referrals from remand homes and other organisations and resolved 206 cases. These children are charged with various offences, including murder, armed robbery, child stealing/kidnapping, among others.â€
“From 2000 and 2010, the office received 10,883 civil petitions, out of which 7,597 were successfully resolved.  Out of 4,860 cases instituted in court, 2,306 have been successfully concluded.
“These civil matters included those cases that bother on wrongful dismissal, breach of contract, unpaid salaries and entitlements and workers compensation. Others include divorce cases, custody/maintenance of children, processing of letters of administration for clients who lost their bread winners and unable to support themselves financially,†he added.
The permanent secretary further disclosed that the OPD was able to facilitate the collection of N63.8 million on behalf of its clients from 2000 till date.
Speaking, the Director, OPD, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, said the grand finale of the 10th anniversary of the office will hold tomorrow, adding that during the week, remand homes and prisons were visited while a public lecture/book launch and awareness campaign were part of the programme.
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