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Legal Defence and Assistance Project (Nigeria)

Lagos, Nigeria
Joined August 2017

LEDAP is an equal opportunity organisation that seeks to advance human rights and rule of law through provision of public defender service and raising awareness on human rights.

Presence in: Nigeria
Focus: Criminal Justice, Gender-based violence, Women's Rights

Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) is a nonprofit organization of lawyers and law professionals, engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. It has observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and also in partnership with many national and international non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights and the rule of law.

LEDAP was established in 1997 by a group of human rights lawyers who had been detained without charge under the military Government. The organization has grown to over 3000 members across Nigeria. Its national office is in Lagos and has five zonal offices across the country. LEDAP has enlisted 750 lawyers and over 50 paralegals who assist more than 6,000 indigent clients pro bono each year It’s organizational structure include an advisory board, a management board and the Secretariat of 15 staff.

LEDAP has three main programme areas, namely the Rule of Law, Human Security and Women’s Human Rights Programmes. Project activities under the programmes are aimed at matching support and service deliveries with reforms advocacy in the broad areas of the rights to life, access to justice, human dignity, and respect for the rights of women.