The Nigeria Legal Society, NLS, has unveiled an initiative through which the organization will provide free, or pro bono, legal services for indigent Nigerians via WhatsApp and other online platforms.
The Virtual Legal Aid Initiative of Nigeria, VLAIN, is a scheme through which indigent Nigerian citizens can request and receive legal aid services virtually within a 72 hour response time.
The development was announced in a letter forwarded to the Director-General, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Abuja, by the Executive Secretary of the NLS, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja. The letter, dated March 11, 2026, notified the Legal Aid Council of the formal launch of the Virtual Legal Aid Initiative of Nigeria, VLAIN, handbook.
The NLS explained that the free legal services is targeted at Nigerians earning below the N70,000 minimum wage.
“The definition of indigent is anyone on a salary that is below the current Federal Government of Nigeria minimum wage of ₦70,000 per month,” the letter said, explaining those who are meant to receive the free legal services.
The NLS, an umbrella association of non-litigation Nigerian lawyers, noted that it intends to impact the lives of 100 million indigent Nigerians within six months of commencement of the initiative.
It said it intends to implement the project through a model of train-the-trainers, wherever the initial 100,000 paralegals and lawyers involved in the scheme train another batch of 100,000 within one month.
“So within one year, we are targeting the training of over1,200,000 paralegals and lawyers spread across the 36 states of Nigeria. We aim to provide essential legal aid services and access to justice for over 70% of Nigerians who are unable to receive same,” the NLS said.
The organization further explained that it came up with the initiative because of gaps in the provision of free legal services in the country. The Legal Aid Council, LAC, is the government agency, under the Ministry of Justice, that provides free legal services for persons who are standing trial but lack legal representation.
The NLS said there are several persons in need of legal services who are not covered by the operations of the LAC.
“Legal aid services are restricted to physical and face-to-face contact at the offices of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria which are located mainly at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and some of the capital cities of the states of Nigeria.
“Based on a research study conducted in the year 2021, and updated in the year 2025, we identified that majority of Nigerians (over 70%) of the over 240,000,000 (two hundred and forty million) Nigerians are unable to receive pro bono or legal aid services from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria whenever they are faced with legal problems and challenges.
“The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria was established in the year 1979 by an Act of the National Assembly to provide free legal aid services to Nigerians who are indigent, and cannot afford the services of a lawyer. We discovered that one of the reasons for this inability is because the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria Act, 2011, does not provide for provision of legal aid services through the use of information communication technology (ICT).
“Another limitation of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria Act, 2011 is that the legal aid services is limited to criminal court cases which are already in court. Legal aid services are not provided for landlord and tenant matters, debt recovery and drafting of legal documents for Nigerians who are involved in small and medium enterprises which is where 60% of Nigerian citizens are engaged in,” NLS said.
Meanwhile, the NLS has notified the Court of Appeal of the “expulsion of certain legal practitioners listed as promoters and respondents in the pending lawsuit between the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the promoters of the Nigerian Law Society”.
“The affected persons include: Chief J. K. Gadzama, SAN, Chief Mela Audu Nunghe, SAN, Chief Emeka Ichoku, Mrs Chioma Ferguson, Mr. Tejumola Adigun, and other persons similarly listed as promoters and respondents in the said suit,” a letter signed by NLS President, Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu, SCN, dated January 4, 2026, and addressed to the President of the Court of Appeal, said.
The NLS said the “expelled” individuals were formally directed to withdraw the said lawsuit against the CAC, but refused and/or neglected to comply. It added that they “have been expelled due to their refusal to withdraw the said lawsuit and for conduct inconsistent with the objectives, discipline, and lawful administration of the Society”.
“Our Nigerian Law Society, NLS, has no dispute against the Nigerian Bar Association-NBA,” the organization added, noting that it was not involved in the bid by some lawyers to create a parallel bar association.
It explained that the actions of the concerned lawyers are in contravention of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962, which recognises the NBA as the only bar association for Nigerian lawyers who are litigation lawyers.
