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From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
A coalition of lawyers committed to environmental protection, human rights and public-interest litigation has inaugurated the Nigerian arm of the Defenders Legal Rapid Response Team, with a pledge to provide swift legal support to citizens facing reprisals for speaking out against abuses.
The initiative, promoted by the Environmental Defenders Network in collaboration with Chima Williams and Associates Law Firm, with support from Clidef, brings together lawyers drawn from different areas of legal practice and currently has about 35 members across four of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Speaking at the inauguration in Benin City, the Executive Director of Clidef, Comrade Chima Williams, said the platform was established to restore public confidence in the ability and willingness of lawyers to stand firmly with citizens whose rights are threatened because of their environmental, community, land and fundamental rights advocacy.
Comrade Williams explained that the team is not an “all-comers platform,” but a carefully constituted network of lawyers who share a commitment to using their professional expertise, time, intellectual capacity and networks to defend citizens facing intimidation or reprisals from government authorities, corporations or powerful individuals.
According to Williams, the team comprises lawyers of different generations and professional backgrounds, including senior practitioners, academics, professors, lawyers working in government establishments, activist lawyers and retired senior law-enforcement professionals who are also legal practitioners.
The diversity, he said, would enable the team to draw from a broad range of professional and practical experiences when responding to cases involving citizens who have been victimised for challenging wrongdoing or speaking out in defence of their communities and environment.
He said the ultimate objective was to ensure that Nigerians could identify lawyers who would stand with them without wavering in the face of intimidation or threats, provided their causes were lawful and consistent with the Constitution, Nigerian laws and other applicable legal instruments to which the country is a party.
He also expressed concern over the erosion of public confidence in the legal profession, particularly where lawyers are perceived to compromise cases involving powerful interests.
The Executive Director of CLIDEF stressed that the new platform would seek to demonstrate that there are lawyers willing to uphold professional integrity and defend citizens regardless of the status or influence of those on the opposing side.
“The truth must be spoken at all times because it is only the truth that will set us free,” he said, stressing the importance of restoring confidence in lawyers as defenders of justice and the rule of law.
He further disclosed that the network intends to expand its membership to the remaining two geopolitical zones in the coming months, thereby creating a broader national response mechanism for citizens requiring urgent legal intervention.
The inauguration also highlighted the importance of collaboration between lawyers and the media in advancing public-interest litigation.
He noted that effective public-interest litigation often requires public awareness and responsible media engagement, particularly where legal interventions concern environmental abuses, fundamental rights violations and actions by powerful institutions.
He therefore welcomed media practitioners to the initiative, describing them as important partners in bringing issues of public interest to national attention and ensuring that authorities are encouraged to respond appropriately.
