By Ibironke Ariyo
The Public and Private Development Center (PPDC) has established a consortium for access to justice and effective law enforcement in Nigeria and Africa.
The consortium formed includes PPDC, Citizen Gavel, Hope Behind Bars Africa (HBBA), the Law Hub Advocacy and Development Center (Law Hub) and the Center for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS).
Kenechukwu Agwu, Senior Program Director of the PPDC, said during the inauguration on Thursday in Abuja that access to the judiciary was becoming less and less possible.
Agwu stressed the critical importance of prompt and effective enforcement of the law and lamented the negative impact of delays in justice, among other things, on individual rights and public confidence in the justice system.
However, he said these were very, very small cases, adding that the essence of access to justice was speed, trust and insight.
He said: “If I see that justice is not done to me, then justice will not be done, because justice must not only be appreciated, but it must also feel like it has been done. »
“Indeed, there is an emergency in terms of access to justice in Nigeria
“We work with some of the organizations that have demonstrated success over time.
“As part of our project, there will be a broader meeting to bring together all civil society actors from the justice sector for a discussion,” he said.
Agwu said the Center was working with the government, especially in the states.
Lucy Abagi, director of partnerships and innovation at PPDC, also said the Center was exploring how it could sustain its impact, strengthen organizations and provide a platform for innovation to flourish.
“We created the Innovation Hub last year. And we currently have around 50 organizations and professionals in five African countries at the center.
“And as part of the hub component, we have access to the judicial consortium. And today we have brought our partners together to really review their strategic position in terms of their objectives and their mandate and that aligns with what we want to do as an organization,” he said.
Munachi Okoro, Head of Communications and Knowledge, also said PPDC is committed to improving transparency, accountability and good governance through various initiatives.
Okoro said the PPDC Access to Justice program emphasizes the use of technologies that could support the transformation of systems, processes and strategic procedural reform initiatives.
She said this would address inherent and systematic delays in the handling of civil cases and criminal justice.
“The Access to Justice Consortium recognizes that collaboration is essential. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, the consortium promotes a comprehensive approach to addressing access to justice challenges.
“This joint effort will lead to the development of sustainable solutions that will create a more efficient, fairer and more accessible justice system,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the discussions focused on the current situation of access to justice in Nigeria, highlighting the major challenges and obstacles faced by different communities.
Consortium members identified short- and long-term objectives, prioritized key focus areas and developed detailed action plans for each strategic priority.
The meeting also discussed resource mobilization and fundraising strategies, stakeholder engagement and communication plans, as well as the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the impact of the consortium’s activities.
NAN reports that PPDC is a non-governmental organization and social enterprise dedicated to promoting transparent and accountable governance and increasing citizen participation in governance processes.
