Hope for Justice and Capacity-building.

Ujueze Augustus Somtoo is a lawyer and a Christian from eastern Nigeria.He uses his leadership skills and professional skills as a lawyer to impact on the indigent persons in the society.Some of his past and present positions include:Head of Human Rights Committee,Corps Legal Aid Group,National Youth Service Corps,Kaduna(2016-2017)•Kaduna State Coordinator,Online Law Reports of Nigeria(14th february,2018-2019)•Publicity Secretary, Young Lawyers' Forum, Nigerian Bar Association, Barnawa Branch, Kaduna (2018 - 2020)•Member, Conference Planning Committee, Nigeria Bar Association, Barnawa branch, Kaduna (2018-2020)•Founder/Chairman,Hope for Justice and Capacity-building Foundation•Projects Partner at Human Rights Monitor (an NGO)•Delegate,Future Leader Congress 2019,United Nations Conference Center, Bangkok, Thailand•Semi-Finalist, Atlas Corps Fellowship (USA)•Co-founder/Managing Partner,Orbit Legals & Attorneys•Kaduna State Coordinator,Legal Quest Foundation,Nigeria•Member, Working Group on Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law, Kaduna•Brand Ambassador at Lawpavillion Ltd, 2020/2021•Legal Officer, Pelican Attorneys•Volunteer,Cleen Foundation COVID-19 Support Group, North Central, Nigeria.

The problem I'm solving is eliminating hunger and crimes in the society, and also eliminating violation of legal/fundamental rights of persons.

The projects I'm proposing are promoting the rule of law, ensuring justice for persons, Capacity-building of youths & children, and Capacity-building/rehabilitation of prison inmates.

When people are empowered, it is capable of giving them financial freedom. When convicts are empowered and rehabilitated, it equally gives them financial freedom. Poverty is the root of crimes in the society, the foregoing  empowerment and capacity-building activities will help curb crimes in the society.

Also when persons rights and rule of law are protected in the society, abuse of laws and rights will be reduced drastically. This will equally promote the economic activities of the country as investors would love to be in countries where the rule of law is held supreme.

I'm working to reduce poverty, crimes and violation of the rule of law and fundamental rights of persons.

More than 50% of Nigerians are affected by all this.

The factors contributing to all these problems include lack of skill or education by youths and children, lack of knowledge of the law and fundamental rights of persons, and lack of funds to engage a lawyer when persons' rights are violated.

My project is to eradicate poverty, increase financial independence, reduce crimes in the society and promote the legal rights of persons/the rule of law.

My project will impact on the whole society, especially youths, children, prison inmates and pretrial detainees.

These projects address their needs by tackling the problems behind the needs which are so glaring and visible in the society. 

I try to create awareness of persons' rights and the law to the public, and also driving necessary actions to solve the problems of poverty, hunger and crime.

Also in building people's capacity, it's usually necessary to make them change old attitudes and beliefs which are against entrepreneurial spirit or financial independence.

Having seen the manifest ills in the society, I was forced to develop objectives and ideas towards tackling these issues.

I am a humanitarian by nature, my humanitarian projects are in different locations notwithstanding ethnicity and religion.

I am a lawyer, a leader and a humanitarian.

In 2017 when I was to empower some indigent Muslim boys in Kaduna, Nigeria. I could not understand their language (Hausa) being an Igbo person, and I am also Christian. I had to liaise with the community leader who provided me with an interpreter, this broke the language barrier.

I also found it difficult to train the boys on the relevant skills because they were hungry boys with limited time for such trainings. I therefore found opportunity with their free period which they normally used for begging. During their free period I introduced free feeding alongside the training. This helped me get a turn out of 11 boys who I empowered on various skills acquisition. The training or empowerment would not have been possible but for the feeding innovation I introduced. 

In 2017,I empowered not less than 35 persons including youths and children on various skills acquisition,I empowered some prison inmates on various skills and equally secured the liberty of one of the inmates. In 2018, with the help of some donors I empowered not less than seven (7) inmates on various skills acquisition at the Correctional Service Centre (Prisons), Kaduna. In 2019, Somtoo made legal representations some pretrial detainees in Kaduna Correctional Centre,and all of them were granted unconditional release by the Court.I am a member of the Working Group on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law, Kaduna Chapter under the Chairmanship of Hon. Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court, convened by Cleen Foundation in partnership with MacArthur Foundation. As part of the activities of the group, we have been reviewing the criminal procedural laws of Nigeria. Currently, we just concluded an 8 week radio sensitization activity on criminal jurisprudence and the rights of persons under the law.I am a volunteer of the Covid-19 Monitoring Group, convened by Cleen Foundation.We monitor the compliance of Government regulations by the people, how the Government addresses the situation and how security persons respect the rights of citizens.

NA

My work is innovative because it involves fighting for the fundamental rights of persons and rehabilitation of prison inmates. It also involves decongestion of prisons through pro-bono legal representation of indigent pretrial detainees who have been interviewed and found to be unjustly detained thereby violating the fundamental right of liberty.

I also have passion for the capacity building of youths and children, and equally finding future for them.

I also engage in sensitizing the members of the public on the position of laws as well as their legal and fundamental rights.

My theory of change is majorly to promote the fundamental/legal rights of persons and also to eliminate poverty and hunger in the society, especially among youths and children.

This can be achieved through my skills, experience and the various structures which I have put on ground for the foregoing purpose.

My projects affected not less than 35 persons in 2017.

It affected not less than 7 persons in 2018.

It affected not less than 3 persons in 2019.

In 2020,I'm partnering with some organisations such as Cleen Foundation and MacArthur Foundation in executing impactful projects in Nigeria. Particularly we are doing a weekly program on air through local radio stations to sensitize the public on the law and their rights. So I can't tell the number of persons who must have benefitted from my outreach through this medium because they would actually be large.

My major goal is to strengthen my NGO both financially and otherwise in order to have a maximum reach out. In the next 5 years, I hope to have impacted on not less than five thousand persons in Nigeria and Africa.

My major challenge is funding because I have got the experience and relevant skills.

By forming partnerships or working with bigger organisations. This would increase my experience and expose me to possible donors.

Currently I partner with Cleen Foundation, Human Rights Monitor and Macarthur Foundation in executing projects for humanity.

I work with them to achieve their aims and objectives which are invariably part of my NGO aims and objectives.

My business model is summarily to promote justice and eliminate poverty/hunger through capacity building of persons, particularly youths and children.

I do the foregoing through pro-bono legal representation of indigent pretrial detainees who have been interviewed and found to have credible cases; through rehabilitation and empowerment of prison convicts on skills acquisition, in preparing them for the outside world when they regain their freedom; and through empowerment of youths and children on skills acquisition.

The community needs my service because human rights and financial freedom are one of the pillars of a great and peaceful society.

I can do this through personal funding, which is basically what I have been doing, and through grants from donors, Government , organisations, corporate bodies et all.

All the funds I raised were for projects executed in the past. Currently, I am more into partnership with other organisations. 

For now I seek not less than 10,000 USD to enable me in executing projects. The form of funding I need is grant or donation from concerned bodies, organisations et al.

None, I will do more of partnership projects this year, unless I get funded.

The main reason for this application is to get funds to strengthen my NGO, and execute projects.

Also I'm very open to partnerships assuming funding doesn't come my way. It's all part of impacting on humanity.

Funding would provide me with the necessary wherewithal to strengthen my NGO, especially in securing a better office space and the necessary office equipment and staff needed to run an NGO.

My partnership goal is to achieve all the aims and objectives of my NGO which is summarized in providing justice and financial independence for indigent persons.

I am open to partner with all foundations that have their aims and objectives on poverty eradication and promotion of justice/the rule of law. This includes such organisations as MacArthur Foundation, Cleen Foundation et al, Obama Foundation.