Vanguard Allure

Top Menu

  • Vanguard

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Allure Magazine
    • Features
    • Magazine
    • Profiles
  • Allure TV
  • Celebration
    • Fashion & Style
    • Weddings
    • Lifestyle
    • Events
  • Wellbeing
    • Allure Woman
    • Healthy Living
    • Beauty
  • Happiness
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Travel
    • Relationships
    • Career
  • News
  • Vanguard

logo

Vanguard Allure

  • Home
  • Allure Magazine
    • Queen Ronke Ademiluyi Ogunwusi: Championing African creativity

      July 6, 2025
      0
    • Couture Legends

      June 29, 2025
      0
    • I've unlocked a new side of myself - Rebecca Afolabi, Former Miss ...

      June 22, 2025
      0
    • Mudi Africa@32: Clothing Generations

      June 15, 2025
      0
    • Couture as Counter-Narrative: Paul Williams and the Architecture of Cultural Memory

      June 10, 2025
      0
    • Temitope Ayobami Ogunseitan: Advancing Sustainable Fashion

      June 8, 2025
      0
    • Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha: Beyond The Spotlight

      June 1, 2025
      0
    • Tope Mark-Odigie: Living to Impact

      May 25, 2025
      0
    • HILARY RODRIGUEZ-TAIWO: Reframing beauty standards

      May 18, 2025
      0
    • Features
    • Magazine
    • Profiles
  • Allure TV
  • Celebration
    • Fashion & Style
    • Weddings
    • Lifestyle
    • Events
  • Wellbeing
    • Allure Woman
    • Healthy Living
    • Beauty
  • Happiness
    • Food
    • Shopping
    • Travel
    • Relationships
    • Career
  • News
    • Allergan Aesthetics Redefines Beauty Standards with Nigerian Market Entry

      July 6, 2025
      0
    • Africa Launches Groundbreaking Reality TV Show to Crown the First “Queen of ...

      July 4, 2025
      0
    • NGO calls for dairy products introduction in school feeding programmes

      June 18, 2025
      0
    • Couture as Counter-Narrative: Paul Williams and the Architecture of Cultural Memory

      June 10, 2025
      0
    • Paul Okoye raises concerns about negative effects of social media

      May 29, 2025
      0
    • Healthcare deficiency heightens vulnerability among girls, NGO warns

      May 28, 2025
      0
    • CDSS Ojo alumni boost learning efficiency in their alma mater

      May 22, 2025
      0
    • Sanwo-Olu hosts Guinness World Record holder, Ayelabola Ololade

      May 13, 2025
      0
    • African Fashion is Not Just a Trend, It's a Force — Queen ...

      May 12, 2025
      0
  • Yul Edochie’s daughter, Danielle, graduates from University

  • Zikel Cosmetics & Oma Jay launch new skincare range for women of colour

  • Rocking Neon: Easy Ways to Add Bold Colours to Your Wardrobe

  • 10 rules for a better shower

  • Unmasking The Dangers of Phone Addiction

Allure MagazineFeatures
Home›Allure Magazine›Oluyemi Orija: Heartbeat For Indigent Inmates

Oluyemi Orija: Heartbeat For Indigent Inmates

June 20,2022
Share:

She is an unusual breed. Oluyemi Orija, Managing Partner at Headfort Chambers cum Executive Director of Headfort Foundation, is one who has dedicated her life to decongesting Nigerian prisons by helping poor inmates access justice. 

Till date, she has rewritten the story of almost 300 Nigerians who would have still been waiting endlessly for their cases to go to trial.

The lawyer, entrepreneur and human rights activist has gained global fame and recognition for her work, as she was in 2021 listed among the BBC 100 Most Influential and Inspirational Women Around the World. Orija has also drawn the attention of reputable local and international media outlets like Aljazeera and the Guardian UK.  In this interview, she speaks to Allure on her work, life, and style.

How did it feel to be on the 2021 BBC list of 100 Most Influential and Inspirational Women Around the World?

The feeling is surreal, amazing, and comforting to know that people are seeing the work I and my team are doing. It is not just seen nationally but globally. Importantly, I am encouraged to keep doing the good work of putting smiles on the faces of the less privileged.

The average lawyer sees an opportunity for money-making in every case; what propelled you into free legal services? 

My definition of success from a very young age has always been positive impaction in peoples’ lives and not prosperity. For me, it is prosperity to have a lot of money, but it is success to touch lives. Being a lawyer gave me the opportunity to touch lives by looking for indigent inmates incarcerated unjustly, and rendering free legal service to them. The inmates need the services, but they cannot afford it; hence they continue to languish in prison even if they were innocent or charged for minor offences. I might not be rich in the pocket or bank account now, but I know I am very wealthy considering that I and my team have, as of today, touched 295 lives and families, by ensuring their freedom from prisons.

The Nigerian justice system is notoriously complicated; doesn’t this deter you sometimes? 

There is no doubt that the justice system is complicated and if it were not complicated, the inmates might not need our services in the first place. We are aware of this fact, and we always prepare to confront it. I am like the shoulder my team members lean on when discouraged; so, I cannot afford to be deterred or discouraged. I am always focused on the end goal— which is, freedom of an innocent young man/woman in prison. This keeps me going.

How do you determine which inmate deserves your help amid thousands crying for justice daily? 

We do not take all cases. There are requirements to be met before we can offer our services to an inmate. The first is, the inmate must be indigent, meaning the inmate and the family are poor and cannot afford legal services. The second one is that the inmate is innocent of the crime charged or he is charged with misdemeanor. How we determine innocence is that we look at the documents before the court, the evidence against the inmates, and where there is a complainant, we also reach out to the complainant to hear from him/her. You will know a trumped-up charge when you see one.

This is a huge calling and you personally cannot stand as defending counsel in every case; what has trying to gather lawyers of like-minds cost you? 

At the beginning, it was tough getting lawyers on our team because we didn’t have a huge amount of money to pay but we were consistent. At every recruitment, we made sure to sell the vision to applicants and made them realise that we do not have so much money to pay. We were keen on those passionate about the cause and ready to grow with us. Some people joined and left while some stayed. It is easier now to get passionate lawyers to join the team because our work and integrity is doing the talking and we now receive volunteers’ applications daily.

Have you ever had to reward any lawyer financially to work with you? 

Absolutely! I have seven lawyers currently under my direct employment apart from other administrative staff, and they are paid monthly to do the work. Some volunteers will also request for money, but we always remind those volunteers the meaning of volunteerism. We encourage our volunteers via other means but not financially because we obviously cannot afford it.

Who bears the cost of that; you or the inmate? 

Headfort Foundation bears the cost. We do not collect any dime from inmates or our beneficiaries.

The economy is tough; how do you get funds for your work? 

I own a law firm called Headfort Chambers; this law firm is into general law practice, and it is 100% for profit purposes. A certain percentage of our proceeds at the firm goes into the foundation monthly, to help with the operations of the foundation. Aside from this, we also use the online platform to solicit for funding from individuals and private organisations; and we now have good Nigerians home and in diaspora supporting this cause financially.

The Headfort Foundation is said to be the first to introduce technology into access to justice in Nigeria by creating an App that links victims to pro bono lawyers; how functional and effective has this been? 

The “Lawyers NowNow” App is very efficient and it is functional all over Nigeria. Since we launched it on the 1st of April 2021, it has well over 2,000 downloads and has attended to about 300 cases. The App automatically assigns the cases reported on it to lawyers who are already registered on the app as volunteers and the lawyers swing to action immediately to act on the cases. The App is like the best thing to happen to the Nigerian youth who are the major victims of police brutality, harassment, and extortion.

From your experience, what’s the biggest reason Nigerian prisons are so congested? 

The biggest reasons the Nigerian prisons are congested is bad policing and lack of consequences for bad policing. The police arrest people without any evidence of crime, they turn civil matters to crime, charge people on trumped-up charges and these acts are aided by the magistrates by dumping them in prison. I have been in a court where the magistrate was asking the prosecutor “what kind of charge is this?” but instead of throwing out the charge against the defendant, the magistrate still remanded the defendant in prison and granted him a bail whose conditions he could not perfect. The police officer responsible for the arrest and all other officers who approved such charges were supposed to be held responsible for bringing such frivolous charges to court, and wasting the resources of the state to prosecute the charges. When police officers are punished and made to pay fines/penalty for these acts, we will have less frivolous charges in courts and thereafter, less inmates in prison.

Rehabilitation is supposed to be a primary function of prison service but has remained a major challenge in this clime. Does this give you any concern? 

Absolutely, this gives me a lot of concern, but you would not blame the correctional centers. Imagine a center built for 800 inmates housing over 3,000 inmates; what kind of rehabilitation will take place there? Where inmates presumed innocent are living in the same space with condemned inmates for months, and sometimes, years? NGOs and religious bodies have been supporting the correctional centers in this regard but there is more still to be done. We have recognised this gap at Headfort Foundation and that is why we designed a project called “Ex-inmate Support Initiative.” The project is basically to support our beneficiaries as soon as they are released. We refer them to our social workers and counsellors, they counsel them and help re-integrate them back into the society; and we assist them around employment, skill acquisition, education, physical and mental health support. 

What are the bottlenecks you face while trying to help inmates access justice? 

The bottlenecks we face include financial demands by court officials who expect us to ‘tip’ them to do the work they they are paid to do notwithstanding that we are rendering pro bono services, unnecessary adjournments on cases, long wait for DPP advice, and when the advice is finally out, arraignment at the high court and assignment of the cases to judges. These and many more are the challenges we face.

It took you barely three years to establish your own law chamber after law school; looks like you were in a hurry… 

You can say that again. During my youth service, I read the book, ‘The Girl Entrepreneur’ by Ibukun Awosika. The book was an eye opener to entrepreneurship; it helped me to prepare for entrepreneurship. I gave myself the target of three years to be under pupilage and during these three years, I cared less about the peanut I was earning, I gave my all into my work and learned all that is there to learn. Now, I will be 10 years at the bar this year and of course, I am still learning every day.

What takes your time when you aren’t pursuing cases? 

When I am not working, you will see me having quality time with my son and catching up with my family. These are the people from whom I draw the strength to work.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My typical day is wake up and set my team on top gear, give them information and resources to carry on their daily duty if there is need to, go to court if I have a case to personally attend to, surf internet for opportunity for the organisation, reach out to stakeholders, and remain at standby at all times because I can be called for anything at any time.

What’s your preferred holiday destination if you ever find time for holidays? 

My preferred holiday destination would be Santorini in Greece.

Describe your personal style in a few words… 

My personal style is actually very boring; you will most times find me in a pair of jeans, and a T-shirt, with a pair of sneakers— but when I want to feel girly, a pair of high heels will go along with it. 

What fashion item won’t you ever be caught without? 

One fashion item you will always find me with is my wristwatch. I feel naked without it.

TagsmagazineOluyemi Orija
Previous Article

The abused husband at Fathers Day

Next Article

Pretty Pastels

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • Entertainment

    ‘SouthGerian’ Magazine: Mike Ezuruonye Seeks To Unite S’Africans, Nigerians

    March 22, 2021
    By Oluwamuyiwa Oyedele
  • Allure MagazineEntertainmentNews

    Playboy magazine calls off nudity ban, returns to publishing nudes on its cover

    February 14, 2017
    By allure1
  • Entertainment

    Star Quest Winner, B’Dash welcomes set of twins

    May 24, 2018
    By CHIOMA
  • Allure MagazineNews

    America’s First lady, Michelle Obama Covers Variety September Issue

    August 23, 2016
    By allure1
  • Allure MagazineNews

    Stars of Hidden Figures come out to play on the cover of ESSENCE February Edition

    January 3, 2017
    By allure1
  • Allure MagazineBeautymusic

    Make up-free Alicia Keys covers Glamour’s March edition

    February 1, 2017
    By allure1
0

  • Rape: Breaking the culture of silence 
    FeaturesNews

    Rape: Breaking the culture of silence 

  • Allure WomanCelebration

    Linda Ikeji acquires 2020 Range Rover to mark 40th birthday

  • Uncategorized

    Actress, Sola Sobowale celebrates twin daughters’ birthday (photos)

  • 5312
    Followers
  • 0
    Likes

Timeline

  • July 8, 2025

    Yul Edochie’s daughter, Danielle, graduates from University

  • July 7, 2025

    Zikel Cosmetics & Oma Jay launch new skincare range for women of colour

  • July 7, 2025

    Rocking Neon: Easy Ways to Add Bold Colours to Your Wardrobe

  • July 7, 2025

    10 rules for a better shower

  • July 6, 2025

    Unmasking The Dangers of Phone Addiction

Categories

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates and to hear what's going on with our magazine!

  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Yul Edochie’s daughter, Danielle, graduates from University

    By Temitope
    July 8, 2025
  • Zikel Cosmetics & Oma Jay launch new skincare range for women of colour

    By Temitope
    July 7, 2025
  • Rocking Neon: Easy Ways to Add Bold Colours to Your Wardrobe

    By CHIOMA
    July 7, 2025
  • 10 rules for a better shower

    By CHIOMA
    July 7, 2025
  • Chioma Jesus, Sammie Okposo, Midnight Crew set for #THUGGLA2018

    By CHIOMA
    April 24, 2018
  • American rapper, Kendrick Lamar wins Pulitzer prize for 2017 ‘Damn’ album

    By CHIOMA
    April 17, 2018
  • Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti drops new album titled ‘Black Times’ 

    By CHIOMA
    April 23, 2018
  • Actor, Yul Edochie declares intention to run for presidency

    By CHIOMA
    April 23, 2018

Entertainment

  • June 28, 2025

    Kayode Peters dies in Canada at 49

  • June 3, 2025

    Abiola Adebayo confirms separation from husband 

  • May 21, 2025

    ‘Prophet Suddenly 3’ Shatters All-Time Record for a Christian Film — 1 Million Views in Just 48 Hours

  • April 15, 2025

    My greatest problem in life is ‘love’ – Beverly Osu

  • April 8, 2025

    Bolanle Austen-Peters honoured by Ogun govt

Follow us