Counseling and Legal Aid Department

ACP offer free counseling and legal assistance to grassroots abused women. We have a stand by lawyers which assist the women to seek redress in court. We get our clients through referral from our Help Agencies Network which comprises of police, Local Government Welfare service Department, and Hospitals and Community Development Associations.
ACP operates in an environment in which the disinheritance of girls and women-particularly widows - is a common and widespread form of right abuse. This practice is often perpetrated in the form of customary and traditional practice, particularly if the widow has no male child. The result is that in many cases, a woman who had worked very hard all her life could on the death of her husband be left in penury by her late husband’s family simply because she has no male children, and even if she has male children but who are too young to protect their mother. If these “handicaps” combine with illiteracy, the dangers of rights abuse get heightened. ACP, since inception has offered legal assistance to these victims of abuse wherever and whenever that has been possible. We operate a well managed legal department for this purpose, and our capacity to offer legal aid is unlimited due to free legal counseling. With the success we have recorded in several community projects, more cases are now reported to us for legal and financial aids. Through the Legal department, ACP tries to assist women and young people through legal and financial aid and resolution of family conflicts. As part of this project, ACP is making considerable effort to provide temporary shelter or safe haven for female victims of violence and violent abuse, particularly at the peak of crises. We hope to be able to make it operational as soon as funds are available.
A comprehensive summary/ detail of individual cases being handled may be obtained upon request from ACP secretariat. Consequently, only brief mention will be made of a few representative cases presented here to illustrate the dimension and reach of this form of abuse.
 

CASES OF VIOLENCE ABUSES
The facts below represent the direct narratives of VIOLATED victims being provided legal aid and assistance by ACP:
 

1: Case no 1. Child Trafficking
A case of Child trafficking was reported to ACP through one of our referral from LAYENI POLICE STATION. The officer by name DSP EFFIONG brought a lady by name Mary to our secretariat. She narrated her ordeal of how she was deceived to Lagos by her aunty who promised to get her a job as a restaurant attendance. On her arrival to Lagos Mary was taken to place called “Snake Island “under Apapa Local Government where she was subjected to prostitution.
According to Mary she said each time she refuses any customer she would receive the beating of her life, meanwhile all earnings earned for this dastardly act goes into her boss pocket without getting a dime. Somehow Mary escaped from her captives and met the Police Officer who brought her to ACP Secretariat for rehabilitation and sheltering.
Mary was with ACP for four days during which we counseled her and took good care of her, she later to transported back to Calabar her home country.

2. Case no 2. Defilement of a 4 years old
A case of defilement of a 4 years old girl was reported by Mrs. X the victim mother. According to Mrs. X she told ACP legal Officer that her daughter used to play in her neighbors room most times, but on this particular day Mrs. X was away and as usual her daughter went into her neighbors room to play, Initially Mrs. X didn’t suspect anything unusual until one certain day she observed her daughter couldn’t bend down properly to urinate, immediately she took her daughter to the hospital where it was confirmed that the little girl has been defiled. After series of interrogation Mrs. X daughter narrated how their neighbors often dip his finger into her private part and later advanced to forcing his manhood inside her private part, ACP reported these issue the Police station and the matter is ongoing in the court of Law.
 

3. Case no 3. Rape and assault
A young lady reported to ACP Legal department on how she was raped and assaulted, ACP took up the case and reported the case to the Police Station although the victim was subjected to critical examination and it was confirmed that she was actually abused, the accused has been charged to court and ACP is at the fore front of the matter.
 

4. Case no 4. Sexual harassment
A young woman named withheld reported to ACP on how her step father often harassed her, she complained of several victimization melted on her by her step father, due to her refusal to succumb her step father has stopped giving her money to feed and also he has made life a living hell, when asked by ACP Legal Officer if she told her mother, she responded that she informed her mother about it but she couldn’t do anything rather she’s afraid of loosing her marriage, ACP invited her mother to the office and she was advised to look for another accommodation for her daughter in other to put a stop to her step father advances and it would also protect the girl psychologically
 

5. Case no 5. Paternity denial
A woman name withheld came to ACP to report her husband sudden denial as to the true paternity of their children, ACP invited the husband to give his own side of the story, ACP was shocked when the man admitted that he actually said so and he blankly claimed one out of the four children as his true child, ACP has taken the matter to court and it is still ongoing.
 

6. Case no. 6. Landlord sexual Harassment
A widow of 65 years reported her landlord to ACP on his continuous threat to quit her and her daughter from their one room apartment on the basis that her daughter refused to have an affair with him, ACP legal adviser has taken the matter to a Magistrate court Apapa Ajegunle, Lagos. Further ACP discovered that the receipt the widow tended at the office as evidence, revealed that she is not indebted in any way, though the matter has been adjourned till October, 2010
 

7. Case no. 7. Assault and Battering
A young lady came to ACP Secretariat to report her fiancé who turned her into a punching bag, the lady was looking very battered and she also had her arm and leg bandaged, according to the lady she told ACP legal adviser that her organization had a big project and her boss told everyone of them to show some high level of commitment so they could complete the project on time, going by her boss instruction it means they expected to close late. Miss Y claimed she explained to her fiancé about these development which fell on deaf ear, rather it infuriated her fiancé the more. Further miss Y provided a doctors report as evidence, ACP legal adviser has press for charges against the accused under the Lagos State Domestic Violence Law.
 

8. Case n. 8. PEDOPHILE IN AJEGUNLE
A case of Pedophile was reported to ACP legal Department, according to the victim mother she narrated how Mr. Stanley Ologbo often visit their house pretending to make use of the toilet, and on this occasion unknowingly to her, Mr. Stanley Ologbo often subjected her eleven (11)years old son to homosexuality behavior most times he often duck his manhood inside the 11 years old boy mouth.
For some time she observed that each time her son sees Mr. Stanley Ologbo coming he takes to his hill until he was eventually caught by her neighbors, carrying out his illicit behavior, he was reported to the Ajeromi Ifelodun Police Station and the case was handled by Sergent Mandu who charged the case to Apapa Magistrate court.
Mr. Stanley Ologbo was reminded at the kirikiri maximum prison for just two weeks , he now works around as a free man after he was granted bail of 50,000 naira and two surety, he resides within Ojo Lane off Layinka Street Ajegunle. ACP has taken up the case again and is praying that justice would be done this time around.