Access to Justice is pleased to announce the promulgation of new Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, signed into law by the Hon. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi GCON on the 11th November 2009, pursuant to powers conferred upon him by section 46 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. The rules came into effect on December 1, 2009.

The new Rules are the outcome of advocacy efforts by Access to Justice and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to improve the system for the enforcement of human rights in Nigeria. Access to Justice is proud to have been a major catalyst for this groundbreaking reform which will change the landscape of human rights litigation in Nigeria. Click below to download  a copy of the new rules

Following a series of extra-judicial killings by men of the NigerianPolice, Access to Justice (AJ) has written letters to both the President Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'adua and the IGP Ogbonna Onovo to express their concern and dismay at the trend which has become very worrisome and seems to be worsening in dimension.
The letters called for immediate and decisive actions in the form of reforms of the Nigerian Police on the parts of both public officers towards ending the menace.
Click here for the text of the letters

On the 1st of October, 2009 Police Officers attached to the Adekunle Police Station, in Yaba, Lagos State shot three young men in cold blood, which resulted in the death of two of the men, while the third lies in a critical condition in the hospital.
The press conference was held at Alagomeji, Yaba at the scene of the incident to afford members of the press and the public the opportunity to see the scene for themselves. At the press conference, AJ intimated the public on plans to ensure justice is gotten for the families of the deceased persons. Click here to read the full text of the press statement issued at the press conference

In 2008, the Nigerian Bar Association in collaboration with Access to Justice launched the Judgment/Order Compliance Registry Programme under its Rule of Law initiative. The programme will ensure that all court orders, judgments and directives are complied with at all levels and among the different branches and departments of government. The programme is also expected to bring relief to persons at whose instance court directives and judgments are delivered and who suffer when there is any act of disobedience or non-compliance.

Access to Justice reinforces its call on members of the public to report cases of disobedience to court judgments/Orders by Government Institutions, agencies and departments, to any local branch of the NBA nearest to them or to the NBA National Secretariat under the special ‘Judgment/Order Compliance Registry Programme’.

A retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olatawura spent most of his life in public service, and, in the course of his extraordinary, resplendent career, he lent himself unselfishly, nay, sacrificially, to worthy public causes. He welcomed ideas for growth and change, and supplied his own influence and authority to advance them

Access to Justice in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association, on Tuesday, 17th March 2009, launched a project to check the incessant disobedience of court orders by the Nigerian government and its agencies

The project titled Judgment/Order Compliance Registry Programme (JOCRP) aims at ensuring that all court judgments/orders/directives are complied with at all levels of government, local, state and federal, and by all agents and agencies of government. This will enable the Bar confront disobedience to court orders right from the time they manifest, so that the Nigeria Bar Association does not wait until such disobedience has accumulated over a long period before acting. The JOCRP project also targets empowering litigants and their lawyers with adequate information on the assets of public institutions so that judgment creditors can proceed against these assets (money or other property) to levy execution when governmental agencies fail to satisfy any judgment given by the courts against them.

At the Press launch of the project, Access to Justice and the NBA in a joint statement recounted that for the most part under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government, there was flagrant disobedience of court orders and judgments by political office holders and other public authorities which necessitated an initiative such as the JOCRP to help curtail this trend.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a private charity based in Chicago, USA, has announced the winners of its 2009 Award for Creative and Effective Nonprofits. Access to Justice (AJ) is among the 8 globally selected recipients of the award. The award is intended to honour and strengthen organizations that have made significant impact in their respective fields of operation, using innovative and creative strategies. According to the Statement released by the MacArthur Foundation, all 8 nonprofits “… are highly creative and effective organizations that have made a remarkable impact in their fields, driving significant change on a modest budget”. Click here for more details  http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKr
H/b.5119067/k.77D8/April_2009__Supporting
_Creative_amp_Effective_Institutions.htm

In keeping with its renewed focus on social justice for Nigerians in view of the prevailing difficulties of economic poverty, Access to Justice held a sensitization workshop for members of the legal community themed “Expanding Individual Rights and Social Justice in Nigeria through Public Interest Litigation” on the 7tth of August, 2009 at the auditorium of the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos. The workshop was aimed at enlightening participants on the role of the law in improving the social and living conditions of Nigerians.