By section 8 of the Legal Aid Act 2011, the grant of legal aid, advice
and access to justice shall be provided by the Council in 3 broad areas,
namely, Criminal Defence Service, Advice and Assistance in Civil matters
including legal representation in court and Community Legal Services subject to
merits and indigence tests for the parties.
Under subsection (2) thereof, the Council, shall establish, maintain and
develop a service known as the Criminal Defence Service for the purpose of
assisting indigent persons involved in criminal investigation or proceedings
specified in the Second Schedule to this Act, access to such advice, assistance
and representation as the interest of justice requires.
Also, section 10(1) of the Legal
Aid Act 2011 provides that legal aid shall be granted to a person whose
income does not exceed the National Minimum Wage. Section 10(2) thereof, goes further to provide that notwithstanding
the provisions of Subsection (1), the Board may in exceptional circumstances
grant legal aid service to a person whose earning exceeds the national minimum
wage.
There is no statutory
provision for the procedure to apply for legal aid. In practice however, the
accused will have to obtain an application form which is in the prescribed
format from the Legal Aid Office, fill and return it before he can get the
assistance of the scheme.
Again, under the Legal Aid Act, statutory criminal and civil legal aid
application forms have to be used. Applications may be made orally or in
writing to the headquarters of the Legal Aid Council in Abuja or to any Zonal
or State Legal Aid Office. Oral
applications must be reduced in writing by the Legal Aid Officer to whom the
application was made.
Furthermore, to give effect to the provisions of the Act, Section 19 of the Legal Aid Act provides
for the monitoring and review of cases of awaiting trial detainees. Section 19(2) of the Act provides that
it shall be the duty of all Police Officers and Courts to inform suspected
persons of their entitlements to the services of a Legal Practitioner from the
moment of arrest and if such suspect cannot afford the services of a Legal
Practitioner, to notify the Council to represent him if he so desires.
And under, Subsection (3) of
the said Section 19, the Legal Aid
Council as well as lawyers designated by it shall have access to the police interview.
Section 19(5) then provides that the
Council may file an application in any appropriate Court for the review of the
case of any person who has been held in any place of study without trial for a
period exceeding the maximum provided by the Constitution.
© Onyekachi Duru Esq and www.legalemperors.com, 2016. (All Rights Reserved) Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Onyekachi Duru Esq and www.legalemperors.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
© Onyekachi Duru Esq and www.legalemperors.com, 2016. (All Rights Reserved) Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Onyekachi Duru Esq and www.legalemperors.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.