The impact of legal literacy in enhancing access to legal aid for vulnerable groups: an innovation for law clinics in Nigeria’s criminal justice system

Abstract

In the last 20 years, law clinics have sprung up across Nigerian Law Faculties and Schools of Law to address the significant gap in access to legal aid for vulnerable groups. These clinics provide both practical legal education for students and free or subsidised legal services to the public. This article argues the effectiveness of law clinics in reaching vulnerable populations, particularly illiterates, children, and marginalised women in patriarchal communities. It also highlights the limitations faced in providing legal aid. The article deploys Thomas Hobbes’ social justice theory and Martha Fineman’s vulnerability theory as a framework and adopts both doctrinal and qualitative methods. It draws on primary and secondary sources including the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, Child’s Rights Act 2023, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). The Women’s Law Clinic, University of Ibadan and Chrisland University Community Law Clinic served as case studies. Findings revealed that legal literacy efforts in indigenous languages through community radio are effective in enhancing access to justice and technology also presents opportunities to improve service delivery. The article recommends informed legal education, policy reforms, and innovative legal aid delivery models within Nigeria’s justice system.