About Us
Who We Are:
SabiLaw Foundation is a leading not-for-profit organization focusing on legal awareness, advocacy and empowerment in diverse sectors. Its goal is to improve lives by increasing legal literacy, preventing crime and disputes, improving access to justice and economic empowerment.
Established in 2010, the SabiLaw Foundation is supporting access to justice and promoting legal literacy across Nigeria. As the country’s first legal awareness organization (public legal education initiative), the SabiLaw Foundation plays a pivotal role in raising legal awareness, providing legal education, conducting justice sector research, and addressing critical issues in diverse sectors.
Our vision is “a world where all persons understand and enforce their rights and duties”. Our mission is “to inform and guide all persons on their Rights, Duties, Remedies and Enforcement Procedures”.
Through collaborations with both local and international organizations, SabiLaw Foundation has made significant strides in advancing its mission. As a proud member of the SabiLaw Group, we leverage a diverse network of passionate professionals, including lawyers, teachers, psychologists, public health experts, medical doctors, ICT experts, program specialists, monitoring and evaluation experts, social workers, students, and dedicated volunteers.
SabiLaw Foundation is a registered not-for-profit organization in Nigeria with its headquarters in Abuja. It was formerly “Learn Nigerian Laws.”
Our Vision:
A world where all persons understand and enforce their rights and duties.
Our Mission:
To empower all persons on their Rights, Duties, Remedies and Enforcement Procedures to access justice.
What We Do:
Our seven (7) core thematic areas are:
- Gender Equality
- Peace and Justice
- Poverty and Hunger
- Energy, Labour and Housing
- Good Health, Well-Being and Sanitation
- Quality Education and Lifelong Learning
- Climate Change, Marine and Wild-Life
Why We Do, What We Do:
The World Bank rates Nigeria’s illiteracy level at 62.02%. So, out of the estimated population of over 200 million Nigerians, more than half of us (Nigerians) are illiterates. The National Bureau of Statistics in Nigeria reports that 40.1% of Nigerians are poor, on the “average 4 out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below 137,430 Naira per year.”
According to The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL), there are over 25 million legal problems annually in Nigeria, with only 10% of the problems reaching lawyers. Legal Aid is invisible; there are few lawyers, paralegals or law firms in rural areas, and only a few wealthy Nigerians can access lawyers. The cost of a simple legal inquiry on rights is expensive, and about N76,100.00 (above $200). Literacy requirements of courts, statutory documents and language of courts are complex even for literates. “Nigeria ranks 131 out of 190 countries on the World Bank Doing Business Index“, with the 12 indicators assessed in the report greatly influenced by national laws, rights and awareness. With no consistent free legal awareness and accessible legal education to discourage civil disputes and crimes, the Nigerian Correctional Centers are overcrowded. The 50,153 capacity prisons hold about 61,802 inmates, with 73% awaiting trial. Most inmates only learn about the punishment for their crimes after arrest. In Lagos State (the most populous city in Nigeria), there is a lack of awareness of the Lagos State law on domestic violence (Vanguard 17 June 2014; The Nigerian Voice 25 April 2012), and the lack of understanding extends to the police, lawyers, and magistrates.
An April 2020 survey in Nigerian Universities revealed that awareness of criminal laws on abortion in Nigeria was low at 28.3%. “… since education can liberate the individual from ignorance, poverty and disease, the lack of it has serious mental, political and economic implications which greatly impedes access to justice in Nigeria” (Okagbule, 2005).
According to the World Wildlife Fund, 200 species are lost annually, and by the end of the century, about 30% of the wild species will be extinct. Human actions are among the culprits for the decline in wildlife and natural ecosystems. In Nigeria, while it is lawful to kill animals for food, the unlawful practice of killing and abusing animals for entertainment, religious, cultural, security and business needs is on the rise. There is no known conviction of an animal rights violator by any court in Nigeria. There is little or no data on the state of animal abuse across Nigeria, even in the face of overwhelming abuse of animals across Nigeria.
According to the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime (UNODC), “in 2021, Nigeria recorded 3 significant mixed wildlife products seizures, a total of about 105,384.11kg which include pangolin scales and claws, elephant ivory, processed timber, rhino horns and animal skulls suspected to be lions or other wildcats, by the Nigeria Customs Service. However, despite these large-scale seizures, the rate of prosecutions hasn’t quite caught up, with little or no significant wildlife crime prosecutions recorded.” Furthermore, the UNODC’s World Wildlife Crime Report 2020 states that “…in 2019 alone, at least 51 tons of pangolin scales seized globally originated from Nigerian ports compared to only 2 tons in 2015. Indeed, more than half of all seizures of pangolin scales worldwide could be traced back to Nigeria in 2019.”
Nigeria has 99.05 million internet users, projected to grow to 131.7 million in 2023 (Statista). A large, growing online population is searching for information (including knowledge of legal rights and remedies). Hence, millions of Nigerians are searching for their legal rights and remedies in all sectors. The above realities of Nigeria are also present in most parts of the world. So, solving Nigeria’s challenges is solving the world’s challenges.
SabiLaw Foundation has strategically positioned itself to contribute to bridging the gaps ravaging Nigeria and the world. Hence, we design and execute social projects that have a direct positive impact on the highlighted diverse areas.