My name is Akinyomi Oluwaseun Afolabi, a clinician at the Akungba Law Clinic of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko, Ondo State(A.A.U.A). I am sincerely elated that I am part of this program which has gone a long way in deepening my Well of knowledge and also exposing me to a lot of breathtaking experiences. When we were informed about the official visit, I had it in mind to partake in the program so as to have an eye opener of certain things. Being a person who like seeing new thing and having new experiences and meeting new people, I spread the word like the gospel on our official visit to OWO PRISON. We had a brief meeting at the clinic on client interview and how to relate with inmates by our clinic manager and supervisor so as to be clear on our purpose for the visitation. He stressed the need for all clinicians partaking in the programme to show total commitment, composure and deligence in the course of the programme. On the appointed day, we journeyed to OWO PRISON and after a stressful journey from Adekunle Ajasin University to OWO, we arrived at the prison. What caught my attention was the huge wall perimeter fencing at the prison. Questions started popping up in my head and I could not wait to ask the prison officials questions. We had a warm reception from the Prison Welfare Director and other prison officials. He briefed us on the history of the prison which included date of inception, number of inmates, capacity of the prison, etc.. He told us that it was a good call for us to come over to pay a visit to the inmates and told us on how to deal with the inmates. He also entertained questions from students. Gadgets were not allowed in and we were all given a prison official visit card which we were told must not get missing, or else we won't be allowed to leave. That did send fright down my spine but we all laughed individually about it. We proceeded to the prison itself and we were given a hall were we were to meet with the prisoners for interview. At first, I was scared with the look on some of the prisoners faces but I summoned courage as a clinician and our training at the law clinic back in school kicked in. I almost literally became a pro at client interview because I gained the trust of certain inmates who opened totally to me on what they are being charged for. I interviewed several detainees and I discovered that these detainees were even eager to interact with us and give their own experiences, tell us what they were charged for because as a law clinic, we are saddled with several responsibilities; one of which is to render pro-bono service to these detainees. We did not promise their release but we assured them we would try our best. It was merriments for one of the inmates whose date of release was due but the prison warden didn't know or let's say there was an error on their part and during the interview,two of our clinic managers in persons of Miss Fisayo and Miss Ireyemi Hope did the calculation and pointed it out to the prison warden who saw the error and immediately, his family was contacted, and he was released. He was full of joy and thanked the clinic for a job weldone. The information gathered from the inmates were documented, the case file for them created at the clinic and also, the case number of the inmates was gotten from the Prison Welfare Director. I got to know how important it was for proper documentation of files, confidentiality of facts of inmates in relation to the rules of professional conduct by lawyers, rank and duties of different prison officials, importance of lawyers in the society and also importance of prisons in the administration of justice in Nigeria. Pictures were taken,we were also hosted by the comptroller of the prisons and the trip back to school was successful. I want to thank NULAI, OSJI and OSIWA for a job welldone and for making this program possible for all law students. Now, I can boldly stand among my peers in other universities sharing experiences all thanks to NULAI. Keep the flag fl
ying guys, we really appreciate.
Comments
Post a Comment