Development Centre Advocates Equal Justice In Nigeria

The Public and Private Development Centre has said that its ongoing Reform Pre-Trial Detention Project is helping to ensure that all Nigerians, regardless of their social status, can access justice without financial barriers.

Speaking during a Justice Walk in Abuja, ahead of the Access to Justice Parley next week, the PPDC’s head of programmes, Aniekwe Chimezie Ogechukwu, decried the loss of public trust in the judiciary.

According to him, many Nigerians now believe justice can be bought, a perception the organisation is determined to change through its interventions.

Ogechukwu explained that the Reform Pre-Trial Detention Project—a three-year initiative that began in 2023—operates across five states: Plateau, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the project supports indigent detainees with free legal representation and works to speed up criminal trials.

“The project ensures that, no matter your background or status, you still have the right to justice. It is free, and it helps those who cannot afford legal fees,” she said.

Ogechukwu added that the initiative had already provided legal aid to over 20,900 indigent detainees, resulting in several being granted bail, discharged, or convicted after delayed cases were finally heard.

He revealed that through the deployment of a new case management system and virtual court hearing technology, delays caused by logistics challenges—such as lack of transport from custodial centres to courts—had been drastically reduced.

“We can now pull up case files in four minutes, and judges can preside virtually from anywhere in the world,” he noted.

The programme, supported by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), also focuses on educating citizens about their rights during arrests and trials.

Ogechukwu stressed that the PPDC’s goal was to make justice accessible to the poor and marginalised, not just the elite.

“Many interventions in Nigeria tend to benefit the powerful. Our aim is to take justice to the grassroots and empower citizens to speak out for themselves,” he said.