NIGER DELTA UNIVERSITY ) LAW JOURNAL Vol. 2, No. 2, December 2018 ISSN: 2616 —1176 aEDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Solomon T. Ebobrah Professor of Law/Dean Faculty of Law, Niger Delta University and Chairman, Editorial Board. Dr. Simon Amaduobogha Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Niger Delta University, Secretary Dr. Mrs. Elvis-Imo Senior Lecturer and Head of ‘Department, Jurisprudence and Public Law Dr. Pereowei Subai Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Niger Delta UniversityAN APPRAISAL OF THE ROLE OF LAW CLINICS IN THE NIGERIAN JUSTICE SECTOR REFORMS, Dr. O.B. Akinola’ ABSTRACT No society can toy with its justice sector. This is because it is the basis for peaceful coexistence in any given nation. This paper posits that justice sector institutions in Nigeria ought to be strengthened for proper justice delivery to the society at large. One of the institutions for justice sector operations in other climes such as the Philippines, South Africa and Australia et al is the Law Clinic. Law clinics are educationally attached to Universities and Law Schools across several jurisdictions. It is in this light that this paper beams its searchlight on the role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian justice sector reforms. The paper posits that the Nigerian justice sector is a sector yearning and in need of greater reforms to avoid systemic collapse of the nation. The paper identifies the various challenges bedeviling the Nigerian justice sector and the various innumerable ways in which Law Clinics in Nigeria and other climes through sectoral and international collaboration can assist in tackling these challenges. INTRODUCTION The Nigerian justice sector is of paramount importance to nation building. It is one of invaluable assets to the Vision 20-2020 of the Federal Government of the past regir Justice to a layman is coined and embedded in the word ‘faimess’. It could also mes peaceful and just society where the tenets of rule of law are been upheld, There is no { saying the fact that a just society will deliver good governance devoid of vices sucl corruption, kidnapping and terrorism which pervade the nooks and cranny of our na today. Our law clinics as a recognized institution should be allowed through legisla and judicial activism to play a key role in justice sector reforms and delivery. Thi because the impact of the court system, law enforcement agencies such as the Nige Police, Legal Aid Council, National Human Rights Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, etc, se " LL.B (Hons.), LLM, Ph.D, Barrister at Law, Law Clinic Coordinator, Senior Lecturer & Acting He: Department, Department of Professional Ethics and Skills, Nigerian Law School, Augustine Nnat Campus, Agbani, Enugu State, omoniyi.akinola@nigerianlawschool.gov.ng= neers 2 ‘Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) to be insufficient in confronting the present day justice sector challenges bedeviling us as a nation. The law clinics therefore have prominent roles to play in justice delivery in Nigeria in order to enhance democratic values and development. The paper delved into the various challenges bedeviling this vital sector and the prospects of a robust law clinic engagement in confronting frontally the challenges. THE NIGERIAN JUSTICE SECTOR The Nigerian judicial system is a creation of section 6 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The courts and the tribunals in Nigeria are vested with the powers to interpret the laws as contained in the various statutes, rules and regulations across several sectors of the Nigerian State. The apex court in Nigeria is the Supreme Court established under section 230 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The next court in hierarchy is the Court of Appeal established under section 237 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Appeals lie from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court whether as of right or with the leave of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court depending on the circumstances of the appeal from the decisions of the Court of Appeal. The Nigerian justice sector is managed by a plethora of public institutions and Non — Governmental Organizations. Prominent among these public institutions are the Nigerian judiciary comprising of courts and tribunals, the various law enforcement agencies such as the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Prisons Service, National Judicial Council, National Human Rights Commission, Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to mention but a few. Other justice sector institutions include Legal Aid Council, the Office of the Public Defender, the Public Complaints Commission, the Nigerian Bar ‘Association, the various Citizens Rights and Mediation Centres across the states, the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, the Federal and State Ministries of Justice, traditional rulers, etc ‘THE CONCEPT OF LAW CLINICS The word ‘Clinic’ ordinarily typifies a health Centre where primary healthcare services are rendered. In this wise, law clinics are where primary legal services are usually rendered by interns. It is also known as Legal Aid Clinic in some jurisdictions.” In South ‘Africa, the first law clinic was established in March 1971 and was run entirely on a voluntary basis by law students under the supervision of qualified legal practitioners without extra profit. A law clinic is any private, non-profit law practice serving public interest’ Within the academic sub- sector, Law School — based clinics provides hands ~ * For instance, Kansas University Legal Aid Clinic in the USA > Intpu www, En. wikipedia org/wikilLegal-Clinic accessed 26 January 2015 at 5:45am‘An Appraisal ofthe Role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian Justice Sector Reforms 3 ‘on experience to law students and services various indigent categories of the society." Many law clinies offer pro bono services in one or more particular ateas, providing free legal services to clients, The students in tum develop their skills and enhanee their legal training by way of interviewing and counseling skills, assistance in legal research, drafting legal arguments and court processes, case management, and law office management to mention a few. In our view, clinical legal education is a sure pathway for the transformation of lawyering skills and social justice into justice education. ‘As originally conceived, clinical legal education operated primarily within the context of litigation, social justice, lawyering skills and live-client-in-house clinics. Over the years, diverse models of clinical education have emerged: externship programmes, hybrid tlinies that combine aspects of direct representation and extenship placement; and the expansion of clinical education in countries around the globe. In many respects, the pedagogies of these diverse models have been developing outside the mainstream of Glinical legal education through forums such as distinct conferences dedicated to transactional clinics, extevaships, hybrid and other international clinic models. Street Law’s approach to law related education is to provide practical information and problem-solving opportunities that develop in students, the knowledge and skills necessary for survival in our law saturated society or law based society.® Students learn from variety of simulations of real live situations and proffer solutions to legal problems emanating from their immediate environment. A predominant mode of clinical education involves teaching the professional skills of interviewing, fact investigation, counseling and negotiation within a framework that assumes litigation as a backdrop. Over the years, there has been a rise in non-litigation clinics which has led to pedagogies of lawyering. skills organized around the different objectives, methods and competencies of non- litigation work. Placement clinics on its own part enables the students to go out into the field with practicing lawyers and paralegals for a partigular period of time to confront real live cases rind situations in any of the justice sector delivery institutions. In Nigeria, the-Nigeriar Law School adopts the Placement Clinic as part of the training components for would be aspirants to the Bar. This opportunity affords students the marriage of legal knowledg: acquired in the classroom and moot court practice to real live situations and prepare: them to a reasonable extent for the task ahead. eS + For example, orphans, women, widows, widowers, low income earners, etc. 5 Ernest Ojukwu, et ai, “Street Law Comes to Abia State, Nigeria”. [2000] Abia State University Law Journal Vol 7, Page 494 Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) The in-house live client clinic has been one of the major models for American clinica education though extemships have existed at least as long as law clinies and has been « major component of many experiential programmes in the United States and beyond Supervized work in outside practices dominates training in other professions such a: architecture, medicine, education, social work and engineering. Hence, the need tc provide more practical training skills to more law students has pushed law schools 1 expand the reach of clinical education beyond the limited slots available through in-hous« clinics taught solely or majorly by in-house clinical faculty. In the light of the above, law schools and university based law faculties have responde« to the realities by expanding the range and variety of externship programmes. Some Lav schools and Universities Law Clinics in Nigeria have designed hybrid models of dividin; client work, student supervision and classroom teaching between in-house clinicians an adjuncts. The schools harmonize and create new courses that utilize the externshij aspect of the curriculum without out rightly jettisoning the traditional approaches. Fo instance, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, South Westem Nigeria sends their student ‘on law office attachment in 300 level in order to develop a placement model whic exposes the students to the acquisition of core lawyering skills on the field unde supervized attorneys. On the part of the teachers, the law students improve their first — hand knowledge of leg: procedure, ability to communicate, analyze, develop time management skills, empath through attorney-client relationship and ethics such as protection of client’s confidence ete. In Eastem Africa, law clinics are established by law students to bridge the gap betwee imparting practical legal skills and theory. They were established also in response to tk growing need for basic legal advice by indigent population in the East African region’. 1 the same vein, law clinics in Sierra Leone and Francophone Africa were created 1 provide a much needed social service to poor and marginalized people in those countries ‘Although, another school of thought opined that law clinics are unnecessary considerir the lack of experience of interns and lack of licence to practice law. It is in the light « this that proponents of the law clinic concept have advocated for experiential training © For instance, Augustine Nnamani Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Agbani, Enugu State, Abia Stat University, Ururu, Abia State, Nigeria and Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba ~ Akoko, Ondo State 7 Frank S. Bloch: The Global Clinical Movement Edited by F. S. Bloch. Oxford University Press, 2012 Page 30An Appraisal of the Role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian Justice Sector Reforms 5 items and the need to engage student clinicians in prison clinics to offer paralegal services to numerous inmates awaiting trial across various prisons in Nigeria. It is also argued that student clinicians can engage licensed attomeys to file a class action on behalf of the clinic with respect to cases being handled by them or offer to pay fines and rehabilitate convicts imprisoned on grounds of inability to pay fines. These and many more are the reasons why student trainees should be given early exposure to real live situations to help in justice sector delivery and reforms. Moreover, the role of law clinicians in assisting law schools to develop lawyering skills training cannot be over emphasized. The new trend is to use the curriculum as a means of social justice lawyeriig. This will help in shaping the growth and development of traditional clinical legal education and also re-frame questions about the trade-offs between teaching skills and advancing social justice mission of law clinics. THE NIGERIAN JUSTICE SECTOR REFORM PROCESS In August 2011, the Federal Government inaugurated a 12 man Committee on the implementation of the justice sector reform headed by Justice Ishaq Bello of the Federal Capital Territory High Court. Other members of the committee are Olawale Fapohunda (Vice Chairman), Former Attomey General of Lagos State Olasupo Shasore (SAN), Mrs Juliet Ebekaku, Professor Peter Epke, Davidson Erikpen, Professor of Public Law Yemi Akinseye-George and representative of the Solicitor General of the Federation Felix Otte Okogie. Other members are: NBA representative Mrs Olufunmi Omiyale and representatives from the Nigerian Police and Prisons Service. Other members of thé committee are Olawale Fapohunda (Vice Chairman), Former Attomey— General of Lagos State Olasupo Shasore (SAN), Mrs Juliet Ebekaku, Professor Peter Epke, Davidson Erikpen, Professor of Public Law Yemi Akinseye-George and representative of the Solicitor General of the Federation Felix Otte Okogie. Other members are: NBA representative Mrs Olufunmi Omiyale and representatives from the Nigerian Police and Prisons Service. The Committee is to come up with recommendations on draft legislations, guidelines or other methodology to actualize reforms programmes for an efficient justice sector delivery. It is apposite to state that the focus of the justice sector reform process is to restore public confidence in the sector. The Committee worked on some thematic areas in the ongoing reform process, The areas include measures to enhance transparency and information dissemination to court users through the establishment of court annexed media units, town hall meetings and other fora to engage court users, websites, radio and television programmes, court user guides, posters and other printed information materials. The| 6 ‘Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) Committee also analyzed the attainment of a proper altemative dispute resolutic mechanism to ease the workload on the court system. In furtherance of this, th Committee upholds the concept of the multi-door court house, amicable settleme: corridor, use of traditional rulers in alternative dispute resolution and private AD centres. In addition, the Committee examined the role of the executive in the administration justice. Hence, institutions such as the Legal Aid Office, Ministry of Justice, Polic human right desks, jail delivery exercise under the office of the Chief Judge of a Stat« Office of the Public Defender, Citizens Mediation Centres, Legal Aid Clinics as well a increased pro bono services of Nigerian Bar Association members were X-rayed in th eye of their roles in enhancing justice sector reform. The Committee also adopted th Kano and Kogi States system of payment of witnesses. This is a system whereb witnesses are officially paid to attend court and give evidence in order to fast track trial o the accused person. The need to improve on the training of all judicial officers an: staffers was also in the lens of the Committee. The scope of the training must cove information technology skills, judgment writing skills, case management skills, tria management skills and litigant management skills without prejudice to public polic: issues. From the above, it could be deduced that the reform process has not really focused on th: coming generation of reformers due to the present level of decay. In essence, there ar multiple agencies for justice delivery, multiple reports and recommendations, multipl reform programmes and projects. We must strive to save the country from as looming anarchy if the justice sector fails. This is because the judiciary is struggling with severa unending cases piling up as heaps in our court registries on a daily basis, the economy seems failing due to high unemployment rate in Nigeria despite improvements in politica and electoral system. The law clinic is student-based and the students would eventually transform as the leaders of tomorrow in our educational system. We cannot be doing the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result. It is our humble view that we need tc urgently insert the concept of law clinics to replace or support the marrows in our justice delivery bones. The poser is ‘where is the justice delivery in Nigeria?” Simply put ‘do we have institutional problems or value problems"? In our view, the Nigerian nation is equippec with legislations for proper justice delivery. The issue lies in whether the legislations arc still relevant to contemporary challenges. In the light of the above rhetorical questions we cannot proudly say that we have succeeded in our justice sector delivery for the gooe‘An Appraisal of the Role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian Justice Sector Reforms 7 of the common man. We are not saying we have failed out rightly but it seems the indexes for the tenets of rule of law may elude us except there are proper justice sector reforms. We find ourselves agreeing that these indexes are eluding us. We should not therefore chase them away or deliberately develop a blind eye towards a just justice delivery sector. ‘THE CHALLENGES OF THE NIGERIAN JUSTICE SECTOR DELIVERY PROCESS (a) Access to Justice ‘Access to justice is one of the parameters with which a nation measures its socio-political and economic development. In the present day Nigeria, the percentage of citizens’ access to justice seems minimal. This is because; the average Nigerian citizen in a population of over 170 million people is poor and could hardly afford legal services. Aside from a few cities and semi urban areas across our various states, the services of legal practitioners are hardly within the reach of our communities and villages. This does not prevent civil wrongs and crimes being committed by the rural dwellers. We can safely identify poverty as one of the inhibitors of access to Justice within the Nigerian clime. ‘Another major factor which affects access to justice in Nigeria is ignorance. Most citizen: are ignorant of their basic fundamental rights. Majority of the Nigerian citizenry do no know their rights. This is also due to the fact that most of these basic rights wer suppressed under the long years of military reign and seemingly weak educationa system, The percentage of Nigerians with access to formal education in the pre independence years seems minimal. Without prejudice to the above factors, high cost of legal services has also been a bane 0 justice sector delivery and access to justice. The Nigerian Minimum Wage in the publi service is N18, 000 less tax deductibles. The percentage of Nigerians in the public secto seems to be less than 30%. The poverty rate is so alarming and the National Minimur Wage (Amendment) Act No 1 of 2000 provides that, ‘as from the commencement of this Act, it shall be the, duty of every employer (except as provided for under this Act) to pay a wage not less than National Minimum Wage of NS, 500.00 per month to every worker under his establishment’.8 Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) It is common knowledge that the National Minimum Wage'has been pegged at N18,000.00 (Eighteen thousand Naira).’ With the prevailing inflation rate in Nigeria which is due largely to the unstable price of petroleum products and unstable foreign exchange rate, the poser is: how many Nigerians can afford legal services? A lower percentage may afford legal services. The cost of litigation is on the high side. A foray into the various High Court Rules and the Court of Appeal Rules 2016 show the various filing fees obtainable in the court payable by litigants. This is aside from the payment for professional fees of counsel. The present trend is that litigants mobilize the court bailiff who serves all the parties in the suit. The amount payable to the court bailiff is dependent on the distance and the logistics involved in such assignments. Where the service is unsuccessful, the litigant must file another application for substituted service and foot all the incidental expenses. To my mind, the rules in relation to filing fees in our courts are not reflective of pro-poor policies in any way. Without easy access to justice, there is bound to be anarchy and increase in crimes such as we have in the present day Nigeria. (b) Delay in Judicial Process From this writer’s research in the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division in 2015, there were over a 1000 appeal cases pending within Enugu and Ebonyi States. This is aside from accumulated cases on appeal at the Anambra State High Court and her Customary Court of Appeal which is almost the same in number compared to the aforementioned jurisdictions. The Court of Appeal Enugu Division comprise of 4 Justices of the court. The delay experienced in our courts is so alarming to the extent that the spirit of court room adjudiéation as a means to an end in the justice sector is almost dead even among lawyers. To this end, litigants are fast losing confidence in the entire judicial process. This is not a good omen for our growing democracy because if the justice sector collapses, anarchy is inevitable ‘The case of Dielu v Iwuno & Others!” lasted for 23 years. Despite the best efforts of our court system to improve filing processing time of civil disputes with mechanisms such as the front loading system, the burden of criminal cases, tight budgets and other factors still makes it near impossible to bring a case to an end using the court system in many * The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2011 Explanatory Memorandum provides: This Act further amends the National Minimum Wage Act, Cap N61 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 as amended, to provide for a revised national minimum wage and also to provide for a realistic penalty regime for violation of the provisions of the Act. ° Approximately $113 per month less deductible taxes such as Personal Income Tax, etc "” (1996) 4 NWLR (PT 445) 622An Appraisal of the Role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian Justice Sector Reforms jurisdictions. Appeals extend the time required to reach a final result stil further couple. with frivolous applications to frustrate the ends of justice where the advocate knows h does not have a good case in terms of substantive justice. (©) Lack of Proper Funding Our court systems in Nigeria are poorly funded. This is peculiar and recurrent in mos jurisdictions. It is a notorious fact that an average court room is poorly furnished. Som: selected jurisdictions such as the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Federal High Court the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Lagos State High Court, River State High Court, and a few others have better court furnishing with basic facilities fo the commencement and completion of a judicial process. Majority of inferior courts it Nigeria are poorly furnished. This is due to lack of proper funding. In some jurisdictions transportation to court is still a challenge to Magistrates and Judges of Customary Court: and Area Courts. The reward system for Judges of the lower bench is still very poor it some jurisdictions. Logistics for use in the inferior Court such as statiorieries anc electronic facilities are not available. A recent visit to Isigwe/Ovuorie Customary Cour within Ugbawka village in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeri: by this writer reveals that the court sits in a collapsing town hall structure. The cour building is fast collapsing without furniture. The few benches available are without table: while the floor is so dirty with unkempt premises. This writer is yet to see how‘a prope! administration of justice would be delivered within such a system. (d) Judicial Corruption Judicial corruption is a major challenge bedeviling the Nigerian judiciary today. Judicial corruption includes any inappropriate financial or material gain and non-material gain aimed at influencing the impartiality of the judicial process by any factor within the court system!'-A few years back, the National Bureau of Statistics released its first ever crime and corruption survey in Nigeria'?. The report’s statistics deals with impact assessment of corruption on Nigerian businesses based on the experiences of many business owners across several industries. According to the report, the most corrupt public institutions in Nigeria are the Police, Customs, and defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria while the Nigerian judiciary was rated among the least corrupt." "' Culled from a paper presentation by Comrade Issa Aremu, Notes on Corruption and Judicial Administration in Nigeria, page 4 at the Annual Mohammed Akanbi Foundation (MAF) Lecture Series held at Horin, Kwara State, Nigeria. For further details, visit www.mafng.org accessed 6 August 2015 at 10:23am 2 www-nbs.gov.ng visited 7 August 2015 at 7:21pm "The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has been unbundled into various electricity distribution companies such as Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Benin Electricity Distribution Company, etcaan 10 Niger Deita University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) Be that as it may, corruption in the Nigerian judiciary seems real. Some Judges were recently sanctioned by the National Judicial Council (NJC) on grounds of corruption. The National Judicial Council under the Chairmanship of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, at its meeting which was held on 24th and 25th April, 2013 suspended Hon. Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba of the Federal Capital Territory ‘High Court from office for a period of twelve months without pay. Honourable Justice Talba was suspended from office sequel to the findings by the Council that he did not exercise his discretion judicially and judiciously with regard to the sentences he passed on one of the accused persons, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf in the Police Pension case of FRN v Esai Dangabar & 5 Others.'* It would be recalled that the National Judicial Council at its emergency meeting which was held on 20th February, 2013 set up a Fact Finding Committee to investigate the allegations leveled against Honourable Justice alba’? in the Police Pension case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v Esai Dangabar and 5 Ors. The Council however, observed that the charges that had been brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Mr. John Y. Yusuf. The National Judicial Council, in the exercise of its disciplinary powers under the 1999 Constitution as amended, also issued serious warning to Honourable Justice Talba to desist from unreasonable exercise of judicial discretion in all matters brought before him. On the various petitions written against Honourable Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court who retired from service on 18th May, 2013, the Council considered his responses and decided to seriously warn him prior to his retirement.'® In furtherance of the above, judicial corruption is not only rampant among the Judges as stated above; some judicial staff may also be tempted to be partners in the accomplishment of judicial corruption. Some staff of the judiciary act as the agents for collection of bribes from litigants. The sanctity of the oath system through the deposition of affidavit appears to have been bastardized. It is alleged that some citizens depose to affidavits telling all manner of lies on oath in defiance to their conscience. Public institutions established by statutes such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission in some instances exercised their powers within the ambit of available facilities and resources but the question is whether the judiciary has lived up to her expectations? Back to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey, what is actually encouraging is the fact that the ° Unreported FCT/HC/CR/64/2012 'S As he then was © htp:/www.nje.gov.ng accessed 6 August 2015 at 7:38am10 Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) Be that as it may, corruption in the Nigerian judiciary seems real. Some Judges were recently sanctioned by the National Judicial Council (NIC) on grounds of corruption. The National Judicial Council under the Chairmanship of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, at its meeting which was held on 24th and 25th April, 2013 suspended Hon. Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court from office for a period of twelve months without pay. Honourable Justice Talba was suspended from office sequel to the findings by the Council that he did not exercise his discretion judicially and judiciously with regard to the sentences he passed on one of the accused persons, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf in the Police Pension case of FRN v Esai Dangabar & 5 Others."* It would be recalled that the National Judicial Council at its emergency meeting which was held on 20th February, 2013 set up a Fact Finding Committee to investigate the allegations leveled against Honourable Justice alba’? in the Police Pension case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v Esai Dangabar and 5 Ors. The Council however, observed that the charges that had been brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Mr. John Y. Yusuf. The National Judicial Council, in the exercise of its disciplinary powers under the 1999 Constitution as amended, also issued serious warning to Honourable Justice Talba to desist from unreasonable exercise of judicial discretion in all matters brought before him. On the various petitions written against Honourable Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court who retired from service on 18th May, 2013, the Council considered his responses and decided to seriously warn him prior to his retirement.’ In furtherance of the above, judicial corruption is not only rampant among the Judges as stated above; some judicial staff may also be tempted to be partners in the accomplishment of judicial corruption. Some staff of the judiciary act as the agents for collection of bribes from litigants. The sanctity of the oath system through the deposition of affidavit appears to have been bastardized, It is alleged that some citizens depose to affidavits telling all manner of lies on oath in defiance to their conscience. Public institutions established by statutes such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission in some instances exercised their powers within the ambit of available facilities and resources but the question is whether the judiciary has lived up to her expectations? Back to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey, what is actually encouraging is the fact that the * Unreported FCT/HC/CR/64/2012 'S As he then was ° hhttp:/www.nje.gov.ng accessed 6 August 2015 at 7:38am12 Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) various jurisdictions. Student clinicians are attached to multi door court houses durit their student externship placement programme to acquire mediation skills and g exposed to several conflict resolution techniques. In the same vein, cases handled in the law clinics are sometimes referred to dispu resolution centres such as the Citizens Mediation Centre in Enugu State, Multi Do: Courthouses in Lagos, Abia State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria on to mention a few, Hence, the referral mechanism of dispute resolution is yielding resul across law clinics in Nigeria. Law clinics also train traditional rulers in altemative dispute resolution mechanisn which have the potential to reduce the workload on the courts, especially in civil matte: and land disputes.'” However, owing to the shallow knowledge on the path of tk traditional rulers with respect to the options available in alternative dispute resolution an human right issues, student clinicians play a major role in training traditional rulers to us altemative dispute resolution options to settle disputes amicably within their domain. (©) Community Service to Communal Groups Law clinics engage in community service through public interest litigation. A case i point is the University of Ibadan Women Law Clinic which successfully carried ot community lawyering through an intervention in the case of stray bullet or misfired bulle Killings at Arulogun-Idi Omo community by men of the 2" Division Nigerian Army (Odogbo Army Cantonment) Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria in the course of their militar training which involves shooting and target practices. Thé University of Ibadan Wome: Law Clinic intervened and wrote to the army authorities on the development and mad. Physical representation as a follow up measure. The intervention of the Law Clini yielded results and this has put a stop to shootings through the use of a long rang weapon by men of the Nigerian Army within the jurisdiction. The Nigerian Army ha since relocated the shooting range to a threat free zone. This is a rare feat in ou contemporary Nigerian soeiety. In the same vein, student clinicians from the Augustine Nnamani Campus Client Advic« Centre Law Clinic of the Augustine Nnamani Campus of the Nigerian Law School Agbani, Enugu State Nigeria have been engaged over the years in community service '° Augustine Noamani Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Agbani trained traditional rulers in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State on the 23 March, 2011An Appraisal of the Role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian Justice Sector Reforms Hand bills are made by the Law Clinic and students are grouped for interactive sessio with traditional rulers, artisans and market women association and transport worke union for the purpose of enlightenment in town halls, market squares and palaces. March 2008, the Law Clinic went for communal service to Amakpu in Agbani District Nkanu West L.G.A. of Enugu State, Nigeria for cleanup of the town hall where t advocacy visits of the student clinicians later took place. The Igwe-in-cabin community leaders and women were taught on topical issues such as landlord and tena relationship, road traffic rules and their rights with law enforcement agencies such as t) Police, men of the Federal Road Safety Corp and a host of others. (d) Career Talks and Enlightenment Campaign Law clinics engage in advocacy visits to schools with a view to enlightening the pup on their various career options with emphasis on several career options open to lawye contrary to some myths about the legal profession from communal or societ perceptions. In the same vein, student clinicians transfer generational values into tl Pupils as future leaders. ‘The student clinicians also help to bridge the gap between tl present generation of leaders and the incoming future leaders. In our secondary schoo law clinics have enlightened teenagers on dangers of rape and how to seek redress | rape victims. The law clinics also partner with school counselors on cases of victims domestic violence and other social vices. (©) Partnership with other Non ~ Government Organizations There are non-governmental organizations that offer free legal services to indige citizens who could not afford legal service. Over the years, clinics have collaborated a1 built capacity with respect to these developmental issues bothering on pro bono service Also, non-governmental organizations have also been effective tools in funding student based law clinics that are challenged by funding. Non-governmental organizations a also tools in the training and capacity building of student clinicians in the different stro of access to justice. For instance, Nigerian Law School Enugu Legal Advice Centre at Legal Clinic have partnered with Prison Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) the past in the areas of prison visitation and pre — trial inmate counseling and offering pro bono legal service. () Prison Clinics Presently, Nigeria as a nation is battling with very serious prison congestion. There practically no single prison in Nigeria that is not congested. Law clinics are now one the tools in the ongoing justice sector reforms which encapsulate prison decongestic Some University based law clinics in Nigeria such as the University of Maiduguri14 Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2 (2) North East, Nigeria and the University of Abuja in North Central Nigeria as well as Abia State University, Uturu in Abia State, South East, Nigeria engage in serious prison decongestion by way of legal assistance to pre-trial inmates. Law clinics now partner with the judiciary in routine jail delivery exercises across the various states of the Nigerian Federation. The offices of the Attomeys General of States and the Committee on Prerogative of Mercy are written directly by student clinicians with a view to releasing indigent inmates in custody either on trump up charges or who have over stayed the time they would have served if eventually convicted of the offence for which they are charged. It should be noted that prison visit is also part of a reform measure that has the potential to contribute to decongesting the prisons. It is less costly, improves agency collaboration and restores confidence in the system, In jail delivery exercise, the Chief Judge of a State visits the prisons together with his brother Judges and other stakeholders in the justice sector with a view to releasing inmates who have no reason to still remain in prison custody. However, there are some challenges with respect to this routine jail delivery exercise. Inmates are also released on health grounds by the Chief Judge. Abia, Enugu and Lagos States are among the states in Nigeria where the jail delivery exercise is being implemented with multi agency participation by governmental and non-governmental organizations such as the Legal Aid Council, Police, Ministry of Justice, PRAWA, International Federation of Women Lawyers”, Law clinics”, etc. Some cases might not have gotten to the Chief Judge except for the intervention of the Law Clinics. This is because during the jail delivery exercise, law students having interacted with the court Registrars and other officials in partnership with the prison authorities eventually presents cases before the Chief Judge for consideration. In order to improve on this noble initiative, proper monitoring of the prison officials should be carried out by other stakeholders. For instance, release warrants should be prepared and taken along and when signed by the Chief Judge, the prisoner should be released immediately and provided with transport fare to return home. Suffice it to say that the Augustine Nnamani Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Agbani in 2011 designed a pre-trial information sheet to collate information about pre- 2 Federacion Internacional de Abogadas (FIDA) * For instance, see ABSU Law Clinic blog: bttp://absulawelinic. blogspot.com for details of pre-field prison visit workshop. Accessed 4 January 2015 at 2:34pmssa An Appraisal of the Role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian Justice Sector Reforms a trial inmates. The information is generated by the student clinicians who visit the prisor periodically and take follow-up measures to ensure that pre-trial inmates have access justice. It is now crystal clear that Law Clinics are lawful tools in supplementing acces to justice to pre-trial inmates and prisoners. Where appropriate, Clinics pay fines f convicts in cases of conviction for minor offences. Law Clinics also play a major role in interacting and connecting inmates to the immediate family members who might not be aware of where the inmate is. In som instances, relations believe that their wards had been lost by death through accidents other disasters whéreas they are actually suffering in prison custody. Through the pr. trial information sheet designed by Law Clinics, the Clinics act as the intermediar towards contacting and connecting the family members to the inmate. In addition, Law Clinics also play key roles in the processing of bail applications. Whe: arraignment is made possible, Clinics make use of young lawyers with clinic experiences for legal representation. In Nigeria, the National Youth Service Scheme pos law graduates and lawyers to Law Clinies to observe their one-year mandatory nation service. These corp members have proven to be effective tools in law clin administration. In the same vein, student clinicians process administrative bail throug interactions with the court officials and parties. Clinics are tools for meeting ba conditions especially for indigent clients. (g) Skills Development The Law Clinics provide an opportunity for law students to actually practice suc lawyering skills with a view to enhancing their service delivery when they eventual become fully accredited attomeys. Hence, skills such as interviewing, counselin negotiating, analytical and drafting skills are inculeated into the students before beir called to the bar as Barristers and Solicitors. Such lawyers who have gone through th practical training via the law clinics have developed good capacity in tackling justi sector challenges. : (h) Enhancement of Societal Value System and Generational Transformation Externship and mentoring programmes embarked upon by Law Clinics enable the stude clinicians to have direct access to clients and enhance their societal values through tt interaction with attomeys who are already on the field and have acquired va experiences in the usage of law towards solving societal problems. Student clinicians a now custodians of societal values such as keeping client confidence and rendering leg advice in accordance with the rule of law and advancement of the tenets of justic16 Niger Delta University Law Journal (2018) 2(2) Student clinicians are now tools in balancing equality of social justice by way of lega representation to low income eamers in the society. (i) Development of Gender Right Issues In contemporary Nigerian setting, Law Clinics through collaboration with Ministries Departments and Agencies of government and other gender related organizations 01 movements are useful mechanisms in the development of gender right issues. For instance, the University of Ibadan Law Clinic has the women as one its core areas Widowhood and child rights through collaboration with civil society groups are delivered to the less privileged in the society. Also, organizations such as the Child Protection Network (CPN) parmers with legal aid clinics to better develop and protect the rights of the child, () Data Collation Clinics are now custodians of data for societal development. Proper record keeping are tools towards the effective training of the student clinicians in term of inculcating a sense of value system in their legal training and enhanced access to justice. Advocacy visits of Law Clinics vis-a-vis the implementation of the various street law projects enable student clinicians to generate information from the field for possible policy formulation, In the same vein, prison visits also aids in gathering information through the filling of the pre- trial information sheet, This information is processed for further access to justice and for more collaborative measures by stakeholders in the justice sector. This information is also useful in restoring the fast eroding prisoner’s rights and welfare. Information gathering by student clinicians also enables us to know the extent to which a prison is congested and remedial measures needed to tackle such an alarming challenge. CONCLUSION The Nigerian justice sector reform is an ongoing measure. Despite the challenges bedeviling this important sector in nation building, activities of stakeholders in the sector seems pale when compared to the enormous work needed to be done towards societal transformation and development. It could be safely concluded that the Nigerian justice sector is multifaceted. Globally, legal aid clinics are tools and partners in progress in justice sector reforms. Within the Nigerian sphere, the Law Clinics have a great role to play in transferring a sound value system to our student for generational development. The role of the Law Clinic in this century cannot be over emphasized. The Law Clinics have major roles to play in access to justice both in the rural and urban areas. It is high time our law makers at the Federal and State levels look into our statute books with a view to accommodating the Law Clinics towards enhanced access to justice and humanAn Appraisal of the Role of Law Clinics in the Nigerian Justice Sector Reforms capacity development. More Universities should therefore give the Law Clinics a char to transform their immediate environment. We must all work towards the training, sk development, enhanced societal value and development of the coming lead notwithstanding the present challenges bedeviling the Law Clinics.