The Kaduna State office of the Legal Aid Council has received 88 new cases from January to March 2021, its Coordinator, Mrs Habiba Ohwoevworhua, has said.
Ohwoevworhua said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Kaduna that 48 were criminal cases while 40 were civil cases.
The coordinator, however, said only one civil case and two criminal cases were resolved, while others were pending in courts.
She explained that most of the civil cases were on inheritance, marriage, debt recovery and land disputes while the criminal cases were on armed robbery, breach of trust, homicide, rape and theft.
Ohwoevworhua disclosed that a total of 145 cases, comprised of 55 criminal cases and 90 civil cases were received by the state office in 2020.
She added that more than 20 of the cases were completed while some were settled out of court.
The coordinator cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for the few number of cases handled in 2020.
She assured that with more manpower and funding, the council will do more in 2021 to help indigent people who require legal services
Ohwoevworhua explained that the council was mandated to offer free legal services to indigent persons and advised those in need to patronise the council.
She added that the council’s target is to ensure equality and justice for all Nigerians. (NAN)
