Legal aid upon arrest reduces pretrial detention in Nigeria 

The Police Duty Solicitor Scheme (PDSS) was specifically designed to reform the Criminal Justice System with a view to ensuring that prompt decisions are taken regarding the arrest, arraignment and prosecution of people alleged to have committed criminal offences in Nigeria. The Scheme, which was developed by the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LAC) in partnership with the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), has had significant impact on prison decongestion. It involves suspects being offered prompt legal assistance and advice at police stations by duty solicitors on a 24h basis. This scheme became operational in the pilot states of Ondo, Kaduna, Imo and Sokoto in 2006, following a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the collaborating partners [2]. The main objective of the scheme was to reduce the average duration and turnaround time of legal advice between the Police and the Director of Public Prosecution. This is to ensure absolute respect for the constitutional rights of suspects, detainees and accused persons/defendants, as well as to resolve simple cases that affect public safety and security. Hence, the MOU was built on cooperation, openness, mutual respect and, above all, respect for the rule of law, due process, the constitutional rights of citizens and the Government’s responsibilities. The Memorandum clearly lays out each party’s responsibilities. The Nigerian Police Force is responsible for supporting duty solicitors in the performance of their duties by ensuring that they have access to suspects in custody through the Police Liaison Officers, for assisting the Legal Aid Council and the duty solicitors with information supporting the just and quick determination of a matter and thereby avoiding undue hardship, and ensuring the effective implementation of the scheme. The Legal Aid Council has been charged with providing the Lawyers who will act as duty solicitors and be responsible for the operation of the scheme throughout the 36 federal states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Moreover, the LAC shall designate and deploy an adequate number of duty solicitors to guarantee the effective implementation of the scheme. The Open Society Justice Initiative shall provide technical assistance, including training the duty solicitors and the Nigerian Police Force personnel engaged in the implementation of the programme. This party has also been responsible for producing the PDSS manual and coordinating and monitoring the effective implementation of the scheme. Finally, the Council is responsible for engaging the services of duty solicitors who are then assigned to the country’s police stations. The duty solicitor then renders legal assistance to any person that comes in contact with the police. Solicitors ensure that the Police follow due processes in accordance with the Constitution while interrogating suspects. Moreover, they make sure that, within the confines of the law, suspects are released on bail as soon as possible. The duty solicitor is also charged with the responsibility of ensuring the immediate release of suspects who have not committed any criminal offence. During the pilot stages of the programme, the Legal Aid Council was only able to provide duty solicitors to a few police stations and in just one of the federal states, which was far from adequate. The reason for this was lack of financial and human resources. In addition, another challenge to be overcome was a lack of awareness within the organisation and its functions at that time. The PDSS initiative called for a strengthened relationship between the LAC and the Nigerian Police Force to ensure that indigent citizens access their fundamental right to benefit from appropriate and timely legal services upon arrest. The Legal Aid Act 2011 (Section 19 (2)) provides that “It shall be the duty of all Police Officers and Courts to inform suspected persons of their entitlement to the services of a legal practitioner from the moment of arrest and, if such suspects cannot afford the services of a legal practitioner, to call upon the Council to represent them if they so desire”. The above provision is further supported by the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act 2015 (S.6 (2) (c)) which provides that: