Get Guardian on GoogleThe Lagos Catholic Archbishop, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, has celebrated Christmas with inmates of five custodial correctional centres in Ikoyi, Lagos State, donating gift items to enable them to enjoy the Yuletide.
The yearly outreach, organised by the Catholic Church and held at the Ikoyi Custodial Correctional Centre, featured a Mass and the administration of the sacrament of confirmation to 25 inmates by the Archbishop.
During the visit, inmates received bags of rice, confectioneries, toiletries, clothes, disinfectants, beverages, cash and educational materials to support their rehabilitation and reintegration.
Also speaking at the event, the President of the National Association of Catholic Lawyers (NACL), Mrs Florence Atuluku, said the association had secured the release of no fewer than 150 inmates pro bono in 2025 through its legal interventions.
Atuluku described the visit as an effort to re-engineer redeeming values that would aid inmates’ reform. She said the association, guided by the principles of human dignity and freedom, not only provides humanitarian support but also deploys its legal services to help inmates regain their freedom at no cost.
“Through our professional services, we review records to identify those who have stayed long periods without trial and bring their cases to the fore with a view to securing better conditions,” she said.
“In my interactions with inmates, I am struck by the tragedy of wasted human potential. Their voices echo regret, pain and longing for a second chance,” she added.
Atuluku noted that many people outside correctional facilities are guilty of similar failings but are shielded by privilege or circumstance, stressing that the difference often lies not in morality but in opportunity.
She pledged that the association would intensify its efforts in 2026 to decongest custodial centres, particularly by pursuing cases involving minor offences.
