ABSU LAW CLINIC
FACULTY OF LAW
ABIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UTURU, NIGERIA
PRISONS SERVICES LEGAL CLINIC-REPORT OF THE 2007/2008 SESSION
FACULTY OF LAW
ABIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UTURU, NIGERIA
PRISONS SERVICES LEGAL CLINIC-REPORT OF THE 2007/2008 SESSION
Introduction:
The ABSU clinical legal education (CLE) programme like other pilot clinical projects in Nigeria comprises two components-the educational/academic and service components. The service component is structured around the legal clinic and encourages exposure of the students to live clients seeking free legal services. The peculiar location of ABSU Law Clinic within the Faculty and University community did not help in generating enough clientele for the compulsory CLE programme. In addition, there is low level of awareness of the services, and pervasive ignorance in the community. To solve the problem of clientele, the Prison services legal clinic was approved by the CLE Board and established in February 2008 to serve the pressing need of live clients for our compulsory CLE programme. This specialist clinic operates side by side the general services legal clinic.
Objective:
Though having the ultimate desire to use the student-clinicians to supplement the existing legal aid, the immediate objective for the 2007/2008 session was to provide the much needed opportunity for the student-clinicians to be exposed to live clients with all the benefits derivable therefrom and to use the prison inmates to learn/be tested on:
- interviewing/counseling,
- how to write legal opinions,
- how to manage clients/files, and
- letter writing-to seek help for deserving cases, etc.
The focus was prisoner’s rights in general but with special emphasis on children and women in prison, indigents awaiting trial and suspects that have spent unduly long period.
Methodology:
The students were divided into 11 units of about 10 students each. The Okigwe, Umuahia and Aba Prisons were identified for the service. During the period under review only Okigwe prisons could be served due to proximity/logistic reasons. The student-clinicians visited the prisons during assigned clinic hours where with the assistance of prison officials, they had interview/counseling sessions with target prison inmates, took notes and returned to the Clinic to prepare reports/write legal opinions for supervision. With the assistance of the Assistant Comptroller of Prisons a list of target inmates deserving the services were compiled in advance to guide the visits.
Assessment
The students were assessed by assigned supervisors based on the record of the attendance, notes of the interviewing and counseling sessions, files/record endorsements, legal opinions and written letters. The prisons service formed a major plank for the assessment of students in ‘Introduction to Practical Law III and IV’, i.e. for the 500 level students’ clinic work carrying 50% of final exams.
Summary of students’ report for the period
1. Prisons served: Okigwe Prisons
2. Total number of inmates attended to: 107
3. Categorization of inmates attended to:
i. Gender: (a) male-106 (b) Female-1
ii. Age (a) adults-105 (b) Under aged (18 and under)-2
iii. Mental (suspected) -1
4. Offences/charges
i. Armed Robbery- 72
ii. Stealing - 16
iii. Unlawful possession of firearms - 8
iv. Murder - 5
v. Assault - 1
vi. Obtaining by false pretences - 2
vii. Abduction/kidnapping - 2
5. Nature of charges:
i. Holding charges
ii. Regular charges
6. Periods of detention of inmates
i. 5 years + =9
ii. 4-5 years =9
iii. 3-4 years =23
iv. 2-3 years =18
v. 1 -2 years =19
7 Kind of services rendered: interviewing, counseling/advising.
8. Skills assessed/tested:
i. Interviewing and counseling,
ii. Case analysis
iii. Writing legal opinions
iv. File endorsement/management
v. Letter writing
9. Number of students involved: 120
10. Supervisors:
Sam Erugo, Innocent Okoronye, Dr. Eze Ngwakwe, Ck Nwankwo, Dr. Sam Agu, Chika Odoemenam and Emeka Ezeogu
Conclusion:
Using the Prisons Services Legal Clinic we were able to provide opportunity for virtually all 500 level students, numbering over 100, to participate in the professional skills/experiential learning process during the session. Assessing the students’ performance appeared easier this time around compared with the previous years. It was rewarding seeing the students’ excitement at the chance of doing it. There was similar excitement on the part of helpless prison inmates who cherished the opportunity of speaking to people who came to ‘offer assistance’. Unfortunately a jail-beak at the prisons during the semester holidays could not allow the students conclude work on identified cases that required urgent intervention. Most of the files were closed for the session with letters addressed to appropriate government agencies or NGOs for assistance to some inmates.
From file endorsements and other reports of the prison interview sessions as prepared by the students it is obvious that the legal needs of prisons inmates are too numerous, and sometimes but not in all cases, determined by the category of an inmate. There is need for a study into the precise categories and nature of the legal needs of inmates of these prisons to support a needs-based legal assistance. Such study and categorization of needs is vital in the provision of legal aid for the inmates. Again, the avalanche of complaints from the inmates suggest that the existing legal aid systems are either not needs-based or are ineffective to adequately address all identifiable legal needs of prison inmates.
In the new session it is hoped we could improve and consolidate on the gains of the first session.
Sam Erugo
Coordinator, ABSU Clinical Legal Education Programme
The ABSU clinical legal education (CLE) programme like other pilot clinical projects in Nigeria comprises two components-the educational/academic and service components. The service component is structured around the legal clinic and encourages exposure of the students to live clients seeking free legal services. The peculiar location of ABSU Law Clinic within the Faculty and University community did not help in generating enough clientele for the compulsory CLE programme. In addition, there is low level of awareness of the services, and pervasive ignorance in the community. To solve the problem of clientele, the Prison services legal clinic was approved by the CLE Board and established in February 2008 to serve the pressing need of live clients for our compulsory CLE programme. This specialist clinic operates side by side the general services legal clinic.
Objective:
Though having the ultimate desire to use the student-clinicians to supplement the existing legal aid, the immediate objective for the 2007/2008 session was to provide the much needed opportunity for the student-clinicians to be exposed to live clients with all the benefits derivable therefrom and to use the prison inmates to learn/be tested on:
- interviewing/counseling,
- how to write legal opinions,
- how to manage clients/files, and
- letter writing-to seek help for deserving cases, etc.
The focus was prisoner’s rights in general but with special emphasis on children and women in prison, indigents awaiting trial and suspects that have spent unduly long period.
Methodology:
The students were divided into 11 units of about 10 students each. The Okigwe, Umuahia and Aba Prisons were identified for the service. During the period under review only Okigwe prisons could be served due to proximity/logistic reasons. The student-clinicians visited the prisons during assigned clinic hours where with the assistance of prison officials, they had interview/counseling sessions with target prison inmates, took notes and returned to the Clinic to prepare reports/write legal opinions for supervision. With the assistance of the Assistant Comptroller of Prisons a list of target inmates deserving the services were compiled in advance to guide the visits.
Assessment
The students were assessed by assigned supervisors based on the record of the attendance, notes of the interviewing and counseling sessions, files/record endorsements, legal opinions and written letters. The prisons service formed a major plank for the assessment of students in ‘Introduction to Practical Law III and IV’, i.e. for the 500 level students’ clinic work carrying 50% of final exams.
Summary of students’ report for the period
1. Prisons served: Okigwe Prisons
2. Total number of inmates attended to: 107
3. Categorization of inmates attended to:
i. Gender: (a) male-106 (b) Female-1
ii. Age (a) adults-105 (b) Under aged (18 and under)-2
iii. Mental (suspected) -1
4. Offences/charges
i. Armed Robbery- 72
ii. Stealing - 16
iii. Unlawful possession of firearms - 8
iv. Murder - 5
v. Assault - 1
vi. Obtaining by false pretences - 2
vii. Abduction/kidnapping - 2
5. Nature of charges:
i. Holding charges
ii. Regular charges
6. Periods of detention of inmates
i. 5 years + =9
ii. 4-5 years =9
iii. 3-4 years =23
iv. 2-3 years =18
v. 1 -2 years =19
7 Kind of services rendered: interviewing, counseling/advising.
8. Skills assessed/tested:
i. Interviewing and counseling,
ii. Case analysis
iii. Writing legal opinions
iv. File endorsement/management
v. Letter writing
9. Number of students involved: 120
10. Supervisors:
Sam Erugo, Innocent Okoronye, Dr. Eze Ngwakwe, Ck Nwankwo, Dr. Sam Agu, Chika Odoemenam and Emeka Ezeogu
Conclusion:
Using the Prisons Services Legal Clinic we were able to provide opportunity for virtually all 500 level students, numbering over 100, to participate in the professional skills/experiential learning process during the session. Assessing the students’ performance appeared easier this time around compared with the previous years. It was rewarding seeing the students’ excitement at the chance of doing it. There was similar excitement on the part of helpless prison inmates who cherished the opportunity of speaking to people who came to ‘offer assistance’. Unfortunately a jail-beak at the prisons during the semester holidays could not allow the students conclude work on identified cases that required urgent intervention. Most of the files were closed for the session with letters addressed to appropriate government agencies or NGOs for assistance to some inmates.
From file endorsements and other reports of the prison interview sessions as prepared by the students it is obvious that the legal needs of prisons inmates are too numerous, and sometimes but not in all cases, determined by the category of an inmate. There is need for a study into the precise categories and nature of the legal needs of inmates of these prisons to support a needs-based legal assistance. Such study and categorization of needs is vital in the provision of legal aid for the inmates. Again, the avalanche of complaints from the inmates suggest that the existing legal aid systems are either not needs-based or are ineffective to adequately address all identifiable legal needs of prison inmates.
In the new session it is hoped we could improve and consolidate on the gains of the first session.
Sam Erugo
Coordinator, ABSU Clinical Legal Education Programme
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