Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organisation (CAPIO) is a not-for-profit, change-development organisation of the Discalced Carmelites founded in 1992 by Carmelite Fathers. CAPIO promotes efficient Criminal Justice Administration in Nigeria through effective advocacy. Specifically, CAPIO advocates to protect the human rights and dignity of prisoners, relieve victims of crime and prevent crime among youths. Their interventions focus mainly on providing free legal, medical aid, rehabilitation and social welfare services across Nigerian prisons. CAPIO also facilitates rehabilitation programmes for ex-prisoners.

CAPIO collaborates with governmental and non-governmental organisations in programmes to fulfil CAPIO’s mandate. CAPIO’s services are always provided at no cost to their beneficiaries. CAPIO does not give preference to a certain religion, gender or place of origin.

The project promotes respect for dignity and human rights of women prisoners in Nigeria. It is fact that women in Nigeria are more vulnerable to human rights abuses than men. However, the typical Nigerian society may not consider a prison inmate as worthy of dignity or any rights whatsoever. Their rights are flouted and people may not care at all.

This project does interventions that influence awareness attitudes and behaviours of prison staff and other relevant stakeholders towards the women prison inmates. The project has two broad goals; to persuade relevant authorities to adopt and sustain gender sensitive principles in prison management in Nigeria, and to facilitate improvement of detention conditions for women prisoners by demanding accountability from duty bearers and organising relevant campaign activities.

Combined efforts of Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organisation (CAPIO), Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI) produces sustainable outcomes by ensuring that gender education is an integral aspect of prison staff training. The peculiar situations and needs of women prisoners are being brought to the attention of stakeholders and thereby remains on the front burner until solutions are acted upon and sustained.