Muheeb Mashood reports
The Caliphate Law Clinic of the Faculty of Law, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto has on Tuesday, 30th May paid a courtesy visit to the Juvenile Remand Home, a Correctional Service Centre in Sokoto.
Speaking with the NEWS DIGEST PRESS,
Sheu Shamsudeen, the Director of
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) said the program is aimed at exposing the law students to the practical area of the activities of the clinic.
As part of its activities, the clinic offered legal aid and humanitarian assistance to the center.
“An offender under the age of 18 years doesn’t mix up with an adult but remains at a separate home. So we visit them to offer legal advice because most of them are just there and have not been tried at all,”he said.
Nana Firdaus, a 200-level student and one of the participants, said she learnt a lot and at the same time felt empathy with the conditions of the inmates.
“After I heard their stories, I was so pitiful because some of them don’t even know their cases while some of them and their parents are not even aware they’re here,I almost cry.”
Also, Oyebisi Ojo, a 300-level student on his own part said: “I’m so emotional though this is my time visiting there. It’s about how underaged people are remanded for the commission of a crime.”
“They commit the same crimes as adults do. In the first place, they might not realize the legal consequences of their act but many of them regret it now.”
“I pray God should help them because the place is not joking”, he added.
Ibrahim Dassuki, another participant of the program shared his own experience.
“There are many among them who didn’t know about their offense, so we interviewed them and asked about their offense as some of them were not charged to court”.
“We gave them food and water plus legal counseling in order to show compassionate feelings”, he said.