About Us
Who We Are:
SabiLaw Foundation is a Not-For-Profit and Non-Governmental Organisation headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria. Since 2010, SabiLaw Foundation has worked to improve access to justice and legal literacy in Nigeria through increased legal awareness, legal education, justice sector research, free legal publishing, and pre-trial detention and prison decongestion interventions. It is Nigeria’s first solely Public Legal Education Initiative. It collaborates with several local and international organisations and firms to achieve its objectives. It is a member of the SabiLaw Group.
We comprise a network of passionate lawyers, law lecturers, ICT experts, programs specialists, M&E specialists, social workers, students, law enthusiasts and volunteers. SabiLaw Foundation is registered in Nigeria and is led by a Governing Council.
What We Do:
Our five (5) core thematic areas are:
1. Quality Education
2. Gender Equality
3. Reduced Inequality
4. Peace, Justice and Strong Institution
We employ the following approaches:
1. Legal Literacy and Access to Justice
2. Legal and Social Research
3. Legal Publishing and Publicizing
4. Pre-Trial Detention & Prison Decongestion
5. Free Legal Services for Indigent Nigerians
6. Public Interest Litigation
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).
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. 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 towards bridging the above-highlighted gaps ravaging Nigeria and the world. Hence, we design and execute Social Projects that have direct positive implications on the highlighted challenges.
Our Vision:
A world where all persons understand and enforce their rights and duties.
Our Mission:
To inform, guide and empower all persons on their Rights, Duties, Remedies and Enforcement Procedures.
Our Approach:
1. Legal Literacy and Access to Justice
2. Legal and Social Research
3. Legal Publishing and Publicizing
4. Pre-Trial Detention & Prison Decongestion
5. Free Legal Services for Indigent Nigerians
6. Public Interest Litigation
Our Brief History:
SabiLaw Foundation was founded in 2010 by Onyekachi Umah as a free legal awareness initiative. It was registered in Nigeria on 21 September 2016 as LearnNigerianLaws.Com and later as SabiLaw Foundation on 17 December 2019.
Earlier, between 2010 to 2012, Onyekachi published in national newspapers like Guardian Newspaper and Citizens Advocates Newspaper under his column, “You and the Law”. Through the column, Onyekachi researched and published legal awareness articles for free with a passion for enlightening Nigerians and increasing legal literacy. The urge to reach more Nigerians (in and outside of Nigeria) and the uncertainties in relying on third-party media houses and their websites led Onyekachi to found LearnNigerianLaws.Com in 2016.
The frequent inquiries from fellow lawyers and non-lawyers on their rights, duties and remedies prompted Onyekachi to document and write extensively on his responses. Also, an announcement over the air during the 2017 Christmas season that the Nigerian Police would arrest any person using Christmas fireworks (knockouts) caused Onyekachi to write and oppose the Police, and that birthed the popular Daily Law Tips project of SabiLaw. Later on, in 2020, the Daily Law Tips played a huge role in providing legal awareness on the rights, duties, remedies and enforcement processes for the protesters, the police and the public during and after the #EndSARS Protest in Lagos, Nigeria. It continues to feature on key national and international issues bordering on rights, duties, remedies and enforcement procedures. As of mid-2020, LearnNigerianLaws.com’s website, now www.SabiLaw.org (then www.LearnNigerianLaws.com), had over 29,594 active users. As of June 2023, LearnNigerianLaws.Com had published over 1,250 publications on its website and social media platforms and also delivered over 40 public lectures and training across Nigeria and beyond.
With deepening needs in the Nigerian Justice Sector, in August 2018, LearnNigerianLaws.Com expanded its focus to Social Research, Pre-Trial Detention, Prison Decongestion, Free Legal Services for indigent Nigerians and Public Interest Litigation. It forged a strong partnership with Bezaleel Chambers International (BCI) to further its non-commercial objectives.
By late 2019, SabiLaw Foundation (a Not-For-Profit and Non-Governmental Legal Awareness Organization) took over LearnNigerianLaws.com as its legal awareness initiative. SabiLaw Foundation focused solely on improving access to justice through free legal awareness and employed sustainable strategies and flexible tools for vast coverage and user-friendliness. Its vision was “a Nigeria with high access to justice, where all persons have an understanding of rights and laws.” And its approach was “to Research, Create and Publicise”. Today, the vision of SabiLaw Foundation is to have “a world where all persons understand and enforce their rights and duties”, and its mission is “to inform, guide and empower all persons on their Rights, Duties, Remedies and Enforcement Procedures”.