Deadline: 26-Oct-22
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to assist select Nigerian states and institutions to reduce pre-trial detention by assisting Nigerian police and detention centers / correctional facilities in following proper procedures that ensure that the rights of pre-trial detainees are upheld, including through legal aid services, addressing systemic drivers of pre-trial detention, promoting efficient case management, and facilitating the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
Focus Areas
- This award will support continued and expanded direct technical assistance in the following areas:
- Case management systems;
- Clinical legal education;
- Detainee legal representation; and
- Coordination, Communication and information sharing among civil society, and the criminal justice sector, as well as across and between criminal justice institutions.
Project Goals
- The project is comprised of the following goals, objectives, and corresponding activities:
- Pre-trials detainee populations of correctional facilities in select states and three women’s correctional facilities is reduced.
- The Nigerian Corrections Service in the correctional facilities and custodial centers in the select states and women’s correctional facilities are adequately trained and facilitate services to secure pre-trial detainee rights under the 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
- The average detention period for detainees in the correctional facilities of the select states and three women’s correctional facilities decline as pre-trial detainees’ access legal aid and other pre-trial services.
- Coordination and communication among the ACJMC, other criminal justice actors, and CSOs results in improved handling of pre-trial detainees and their cases, resulting in greater observance of judicial process and human rights, as defined under the ACJA and the Nigerian constitution.
- The Kuje, Keffi, and Suleja custodial centers maintain, even improve, existing processing and services with increasingly less oversight and monitoring.
- Custodial centers in the new states, and the three federal Women’s Correctional Facilities, improve access to legal representation and medical care.
Project Objectives
- GoN technological capacity in Custodial Centers for select states and three women’s correctional facilities are adequate to secure pre-trial detainee rights under the ACJA
- Legal aid and other pre-trial services are accessible to pre-trial detainees in Custodial Centers
- Coordination and communication among the ACJMC, other criminal justice actors, and CSOs are adequate to implement the ACJA
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $3,250,000.00
- Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $2,750,000 to a maximum of $3,250,000.
Participants and Audiences
- The target participants and audiences of this project are the staff of the Nigeria Correctional Service, state court judges, clerks, and registrars; law school officials, professors, and students; local pro bono lawyers, members of the Public Defence Solicitor Scheme, lawyers of the Legal Aid Council, and members of the local bar association, and most all of the pretrial detainees. The implementer must also make accommodations and take action for those pre-trial detainees who could face harassment or abuse in correctional facilities and detention centers, including ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTQI+ individuals, those disabled or having a preexisting condition that requires regular medication or treatment.
Priority Region/Countries: Nigeria
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
- U.S.-based educational institutions subject to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code;
- Foreign-based non-profits/non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
- Foreign-based educational institutions
- Applicants must also meet the following requirements to be eligible to apply to this NOFO:
- U.S.-based and foreign-based applicants must demonstrate a business registration and existing office in Nigeria.
- U.S.-based and non-Nigerian foreign based applicants must demonstrate partnerships with existing registered Nigerian NGOs and organizations in Nigeria.
- Applicants must have demonstrated experience implementing similar education or capacity building programs, preferably in Nigeria. INL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering similar programs and/or federal grant awards.
- Applicants must have the ability to produce course materials, deliver training, and conduct evaluations in English. The applicant’s staff should be proficient in English in order to fulfill reporting requirements.
- Applicants must have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with stakeholders in order to successfully carry out the proposed program.
- Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant and other members as sub-award partners.
- Applicants must be able to respond to the NOFO and be able to actively engage in the transition period and be fully operational with the three current facilities in Kuje, Keffi, and Suleja by 1 April 2023.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=343251