This article is a condensed version of a much longer paper,* the purpose of which was to explore the viability of the approach to legal care which has been adopted by Nigeria within the cultural background and the prevailing social and economic conditions. In the original, therefore, there were additional sections devoted to: (a) the concept of legal care, including a brief examination of the role of the lawyer in developing countries, (b) the social and economic background, and (c) the difficulties experienced by accused persons within a plurality of cultural, language and legal systems. It is not possible to deal with these topics adequately within the space of a short article, and the main focus will, therefore, be the legal aid scheme itself, except for some brief background remarks in the introduction.