Avocat Wants to Make Legal Services more Accessible to Nigerians

You may now request for legal assistance to take care of your legal emergencies, and get the help you need quickly. This is all thanks to Avocat, an app that was built by Nigerian startup Rimotli Technologies, for the sole purpose of facilitating accessible legal aids for Nigerians.

William Chidube, who founded the startup in November 2020 and currently serves as its Chief Executive Officer, said he came up with the idea with the intention of demystifying access to lawyers and legal services. He also explained that he was particularly inspired by the #EndSARS protest which rocked Nigeria in October last year and culminated in a disaster, with some protesters killed and others arrested/detained without bail.

“We built the app to help combat abuse of power by security forces, and also domestic abuse. The idea is quite simply that a victim pushes an emergency button within the app and their location is broadcast to registered lawyers who are close to that area. The lawyers then show up with the sole aim of ensuring that the victim’s rights are protected and the situation is swiftly resolved.

“Looking closely at how the Nigerian society operates, it isn’t hard to see that legal services and lawyers seem to be reserved for the “rich”. But we think this is not so much a matter of money as it is a matter of exposure, enlightenment, and education,” he told Disrupt Africa.

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For now, Avocat will focus its expansion efforts mainly in Nigeria. But the founder said the long-term goal is to provide the same service in other African countries. You may download the app on Google Play Store and try it out today.