The Women in Prison Support Initiative (WIPSI) recently took a proactive stance in raising awareness about the rights of individuals in incarceration, particularly women and children. As part of this effort, WIPSI organized a sensitization program at the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Secretariat in Akure on August 23, 2023. The event brought together stakeholders in the legal community to discuss issues related to women and children who are being denied legal aid due to societal prejudices.
Dr Yemisi Sosanya, the founder of WIPSI, explained that the organization’s approach a 3-pronged one, focusing on prevention, correction, and rehabilitation. The prevention aspect aims to keep women and children out of prison by ensuring that they do not fall prey to societal prejudices that lead to incarceration. The correction aspect focuses on ensuring that offenders or victims receive opportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
Dr Sosanya highlighted the efforts of stakeholders who have volunteered their law firms to collaborate with WIPSI in rendering legal services to those who are vulnerable. She also explained that the organization’s primary focus is on children and secondary on women in incarceration.
During the sensitization program, members of WIPSI visited the Chief Justice of Ondo State, Justice A.O Adesola, who commended the organization for its laudable initiative and pledged to partner with WIPSI to promote access to justice. The organization’s coordinator in Ondo State, Mr Akindayomi Oluwatobi, expressed gratitude for the founder’s efforts towards bringing relief to those who are being mistreated in society. He added that the visit to the female Nigeria Correctional Facility in Ondo was aimed at understanding the state of affairs of each inmate and providing legal assistance where necessary.
WIPSI’s core values include rendering helping hands to those who require legal assistance and helping them get access to justice. The organization’s efforts are aimed at reducing the number of individuals who are unlawfully incarcerated by promoting access to justice for those who are vulnerable.
