through the EU is training a further one hundred and twenty (120) administrative staff of the Council as Paralegal officers. h. The Legal Aid Council introduced and implemented different projects aimed at strengthening and expanding the quality and quantity of its services across the states and local government centers. i. NATIONAL DATABASE The council developed and set up a National Database that captures both legal aid services provided by both Legal Aid lawyers and non-lawyers, law firms, non-governmental and faith based organizations. The national database is designed to collect ,analyze and support production of reports of legal aid services across the states, including serving as the historical register that will aid the council produce demographics and trend reports of legal aid services in coming years j. Legal Aid Providers Network The Legal Aid Providers Network is a forum of organizations, firms, and persons that provide legal aid services and access to justice for the indigent. The mandate of the network is to unite, network and synergize all such legal aid providers in Nigeria and provide a forum for sharing of information, contact details’ and experiences. Customer Satisfaction Survey k. PRISON DECONGESTION Concerned with the number of Persons in prison detention awaiting trial, the National Assembly resolved in 2012 to charge the Council with the responsibility of decongesting the Nigerian Prisons. Accordingly the Council has set up a Prison Decongestion Unit which is articulating the Council’s strategy for delivering on this starting with prison audit and collaboration with the prison authority. As part of its service delivery, the council conducts periodic prison visitations to all the prisons in Nigeria. Nigeria has about 243 prisons, the council has visited 191 prisons between 2015-2016 where it offered instant legal representation to Awaiting Trial Persons and paid fines for those who could not meet up with fines imposed on them by the courts. Furthermore the Council in the bid to put a check in the constant flow/increase in the number of Awaiting Trial Persons from the police stations into prisons, the Council engaged NGOs, CSOs, and FBOs into providing some assistance to persons arrested and detained in police stations, to ensure that some legal assistance gets to such persons before being arraigned in court where necessary. This group so engaged was formed into a network called Legal Aid Service Providers Network. This was made possible with the support of Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI To further facilitate prison decongestion the Council has intensified its collaboration with the Network of University Legal Aid Institution(NUL;AI) for mobilization of complimentary manpower ,using clinical education law students from the various law clinics operating under NULAI network to sensitize members of society on their legal rights ,render advisory and counselling services to indigent people ,promote access to justice and provide legal aid services to prison inmates in collaboration with the council’s legal and paralegal officers ,National youth corps lawyers deployed to the council and other legal aid service providers. l. NATIONAL LEGAL AID STRATEGIC PLAN 30