LII: Under the Hood
In June, we received an email from Nigerian human rights lawyer Jake Effoduh, who was starting a free access to law project, #Law2Go, while on a summer fellowship at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab. In his concept note, he said:
“#Law2Go seeks to leverage on the extraordinary growth in the use of smart phones in Nigeria. By the end of 2017, there will be 18 million smart phone users in Nigeria with 38 million smartphones projected to be in used in Nigeria by 2018 – a growth like no other on the continent. This platform can be utilised to address one of the most crucial problems in Nigeria’s justice sector which is access.”
Two months later, Effoduh sent us a link to the Law2Go website, with a link to the Android app. Distinctive among open access to law websites is the innovative combination of translation and audio. Effoduh hosts a popular radio show in Nigeria and has not only translated the Nigerian Constitution into local languages, but also provided a simple English interpretation and paired each text with an audio recording.
Effoduh has used social media to develop an FAQ with questions ranging from the most general (e.g., “what are human rights?”) to the very specific (e.g., “my land containing minerals, oils, natural gas and the government wants to take it away; do they have a right to?”). The site has also already published a number of resources for those seeking legal services, and provides a contact form for those seeking legal advice.
