Since 2009, SpringAid International Development (SAID Nigeria) has provided legal empowerment and support to poor and marginalized people, using a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) in its work with communities and partners.
SAID helps vulnerable people understand their rights, seek justice, and access legal representation when they cannot afford it.
In 2014, SAID Nigeria supported a widow in Abuja whose late husband’s property was being taken from her and her four daughters by his younger brothers.
The property consisted of six blocks of two-bedroom flats in Kubwa. After her husband’s death, his brothers claimed that the property should belong to them because he had no male child. The widow and her children were removed from the property and denied access to it.
SAID intervened by providing legal representation and taking the matter to court. With the necessary evidence establishing the family’s ownership, the court ruled in favour of the widow and her children.
SAID also supported criminal proceedings against the two principal individuals involved, which resulted in their conviction and six-month imprisonment.
This case demonstrates the importance of legal empowerment. Through its intervention, SAID helped a vulnerable family protect its rights and retain property that would otherwise have been difficult for them to defend.
Beyond individual cases, SAID Nigeria has also supported people who were arbitrarily detained or held in prison awaiting trial, helping secure their release and access to justice.
Barr. Francis A. Igiriogu
SAID Nigeria
