Odinkalu makes case for paralegal services

A former chairman of the board of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Professor Chidi Odinkalu has called for opening of the space for law clinics and paralegals services in the country.

Speaking at the National Para-legal Summit organised by the Legal Aid Council and the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative (IWEI) on Tuesday, Odinkalu said the measure has become necessary due to the population growth rate and attendant unmet legal aid challenges.

He noted that Section 8(7) of the Legal Aid Act, 2011 empowers the Legal Aid Council to regulate and set standards for para-legals and other NGOs complementing the work of lawyers in the country.

“There are not enough lawyers to go round and even with the most generous budgets in the world, there is not enough money to recruit them all into the enterprise of legal assistance,” he said.

“This is why para-legals are important. The most important providers of service for the fulfillment of the legal needs of the excluded and indigent are paralegals,” Prof Odinkalu said.

He said the council has played a significant role in assisting the poor and indigent, adding “In a country in which the absolute poor are estimated at 70 percent of the population, this cannot be otherwise.”

In his welcome address, Director General of the Legal Aid Council, Aliyu Bagudu Abubakar, said Nigerians deserve access to justice.

He said the summit will produce a draft of the Minimum Standard Curriculum and Code of Ethics for Paralegals to provide the “necessary platform for effecting paralegal training, monitoring and utilization in our societies so as to increase awareness in enlightening the common man on his rights and privileges under various laws.”