To make the justice system easy and accessible, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Citizens’ Gavel has unveiled an Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled product, ‘Podus’ that has the potential to make everyone have access to justice.

At the launching of the product with the theme “AI for justice: Highlighting the innovative use of AI in the legal sector and its potential to revolutionise access to justice”, its Tech lead, Oluwadamilare Ayankoya explained that Podus is a platform that is built to increase access to justice for the indigent.

“So, we have built the platform to help connect them with lawyers who assist in getting justice for them.

“Another thing is to help people to know their rights. It helps with legal knowledge, advice and providing legal resources, such as drafting letters.

“One can ask any question around the legal sector and it will give you the best advice in legal space,” he said.

A lawyer and member of the NGO, Femi Ajibade said the essence of the AI tool is to bring justice very close to everyone.

His words: “We are not just creating a virtual chat box but we are creating something that can help the vulnerable, the least people and we are going to use existing tools like WhatsApp.

“So, what we are trying to do is to integrate an AI tool so that whatever legal problem you have, you can solve them using AI depending on your location.

“Podus is a platform whereby people can quickly request for emergency answers or legal aid. Maybe, if you feel that the police have violated your fundamental human rights, you can easily come to Podus to request legal aid and connect you to a lawyer within your location.”

Team Lead, Citizens’ Gavel, Nelson Olanipekun said the application represents a noteworthy advancement in their mission to empower Nigerians in confidently navigating the legal landscape and accessing legal resources through AI technology.

“Podus AI has the potential to enhance legal processes and make them more efficient. People are now empowered to write well-crafted petitions or letters to file complaints against injustices leveraging various complaint centres such as Human Rights Commission, Ombudsman and States’ Mediation Centres, among others.”