Fifty lawyers in Enugu State will provide free legal services for indigent petitioners appearing before the Police Brutality and Extra-Judicial Killings Panel sitting in the state.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Sub-Committee on Probono, Mr. Nnadiume Awforkansi, announced this on Monday in Enugu during the panel’s sitting.
Awforkansi said the lawyers would be drawn from the five NBA branches at Enugu, Ezeagu, Nsukka, Oboloafor and Oji River.
He said the lawyers would prepare the briefs, file them as well as defend the cases.
“We know that a lot of people do not have money to hire lawyers. That is why we decided to provide these services to represent those who cannot afford legal services,” Awforkansi said.
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Panel’s Chairman, Justice Kingsley Udeh (retired), urged petitioners who have no lawyers to take advantage of the opportunity to prosecute their matters.
The panel chairman said there were indications that a good number of the petitioners could not afford legal services.
“We are happy to hear this type of intervention from the NBA because this will now make our work easier. There are a good number of petitioners that could not file four copies of their briefs for lack of money,” Justice Udeh said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 18 matters were mentioned and dates for hearings slated.
