The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), a non-governmental organization, says it has provided more than 5,000 pro bono legal services to detainees in Adamawa State since 2024.
Speaking during a Police Duty Solicitor Scheme awareness engagement and scorecard presentation in Yola on Monday, the Centre’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Lucy Abagi, explained that the services were delivered under Phase II of the Reforming Pretrial Detention in Nigeria (RPDN) Project.
Represented by Motunrayo Anibaba, Abagi revealed that the interventions included 3,000 court representations and 2,000 bail applications on behalf of indigent detainees. She noted that the initiative had helped reduce prolonged pretrial detention while improving cooperation between police officers and volunteer lawyers.
“The Centre, with support from the U.S. State Department, deploys volunteer lawyers to police stations to provide free legal assistance to indigent suspects. By ensuring early legal intervention, the scheme safeguards human rights, reduces unnecessary detention, and alleviates overcrowding in correctional facilities,” she said.
Abagi added that the milestone in Adamawa underscores PPDC’s commitment to ensuring that justice is not a privilege but a right for all Nigerians.
In his remarks, Adamawa State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Morris Dankombo, represented by CSP Obeth Masoyi, commended the NGO for its contributions to justice sector reforms and urged officers to share the knowledge gained from the engagement with their respective divisions.
Also speaking, Kaduna PPDC Programme Coordinator, Mr. Manasseh Akpa, advised the police to ensure thorough investigations of cases to prevent civil disputes from being wrongly escalated into criminal matters.
A stakeholder, Buba Muhammad, applauded PPDC’s efforts and encouraged the organization to expand its support by providing more equipment and a conducive environment for both police officers and volunteer lawyers.
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