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The concept of Legal aid in Nigeria can be said to have been birthed in 1961 when Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, the Chief Justice of Nigeria at the time, during the African Conference on the Rule of Law held in Lagos, pointed out the hollowness of a constitutional right to a fair hearing, if the financial aspect of access was ignored. That statement was the first official public acknowledgement of the need and desirability for legal aid in Nigeria

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