Once every few months, volunteers from Headfort Foundation, the non-profit organisation Oluyemi Orija founded in 2018 collect the cases of poor inmates who have spent months, sometimes years, in jail without trial. They provide free legal services in one of the toughest judicial systems in the world. Even before the coronavirus pandemic hit, campaigners said Nigeria’s police made conditions in the country’s congested prisons worse through brutality, extortion and harassment. She concluded that women were better suited to the job and less susceptible to corruption. So far, the group has secured the release of more than 100 inmates, many of them men. They are currently handling a further 90 cases in various Lagos courts.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
More Stories
Africa’s Most Powerful Passports
Pirates Off West Africa Thwarted
Largest Innovation Hub in Africa Expands
Large Energy Projects Look Set to Transform Senegal’s Economy
Anglican Leaders Come Down Hard on Ghanaian Clerics
South Africa’s Cricket Team Divided Over Taking the Knee
Somalia’s Story of Displacement
How to Tell the History of Africans Enslaved the Right Way
Gabon Steps Up to the Negotiating Table at COP26
10 Wealthiest Countries in Africa Ranked by their GDP in 2021
Fespaco Crowns Somali Film with Top Prize
Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Establishes Itself as One of Africa’s “Big Four”