Project
Pollrite 23
-
Amount Funded
86,092 EUROProject Duration
01 Aug 2021 - 30 Nov 2023 -
-
Lead organisation
CAPIO
-
Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organization (CAPIO) was established in 1992 as a Human Rights organization to address the rights, needs, and dignity of prisoners. The organization was formally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2003. The organization has a track record of supporting the rehabilitation as well as protection and enforcement of the Human Rights of prisoners in Nigeria.
CAPIO’s mission is implemented through four (4) main program areas including Medical Aid Program, LegalAid Program, Rehabilitation Program, and Social Welfare Program. The various programs employ advocacy as a key strategy to seek sustainable development in the Criminal Justice Sector in Nigeria. Remarkable among CAPIO’s recent achievements is the passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill by the Enugu State House of Assembly. CAPIO was also instrumental in the release of fifteen (15) death-row inmates by the Executive Governors of Enugu and Ebonyi States. This is the first time a Governor of Enugu State is granting amnesty to prisoners on death row in 17 years.
CAPIO implemented a project with Voice in Nigeria, under the 2017 call for a proposal aimed at advancing gender justice within the Nigerian prison. Under that project, they developed a gender-sensitive manual for the treatment of Nigerian female prisoners, which was adopted by the Nigerian prison authority. After the project, they formed a network of currently and formerly incarcerated women for the sole purpose of addressing issues affecting this group. Under the 2019 voice call for proposal, they are working with this group officially known as the Association of Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Women (AFCIW) to produce cost-effective sanitary pads to be used within Nigerian correctional institutions, to address issues around menstrual hygiene within the correctional institutions. This pad-making business will be managed by AFCIW for women in prison.
-
Organisation
Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organization (CAPIO) was established in 1992 as a Human Rights organization to address the rights, needs, and dignity of prisoners. The organization was formally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2003. The organization has a track record of supporting the rehabilitation as well as protection and enforcement of the Human Rights of prisoners in Nigeria.
CAPIO’s mission is implemented through four (4) main program areas including Medical Aid Program, LegalAid Program, Rehabilitation Program, and Social Welfare Program. The various programs employ advocacy as a key strategy to seek sustainable development in the Criminal Justice Sector in Nigeria. Remarkable among CAPIO’s recent achievements is the passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill by the Enugu State House of Assembly. CAPIO was also instrumental in the release of fifteen (15) death-row inmates by the Executive Governors of Enugu and Ebonyi States. This is the first time a Governor of Enugu State is granting amnesty to prisoners on death row in 17 years.
CAPIO implemented a project with Voice in Nigeria, under the 2017 call for a proposal aimed at advancing gender justice within the Nigerian prison. Under that project, they developed a gender-sensitive manual for the treatment of Nigerian female prisoners, which was adopted by the Nigerian prison authority. After the project, they formed a network of currently and formerly incarcerated women for the sole purpose of addressing issues affecting this group. Under the 2019 voice call for proposal, they are working with this group officially known as the Association of Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Women (AFCIW) to produce cost-effective sanitary pads to be used within Nigerian correctional institutions, to address issues around menstrual hygiene within the correctional institutions. This pad-making business will be managed by AFCIW for women in prison.
-
Project
Pollrite 23 is a brilliant concept by Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organization- an old grantee of Voice. This concept aims at ensuring voting rights for prisoners by the 2023 general election in Nigeria. This intervention will employ the use of data mining from the Independent National Electoral Commission and other organizations that have actively monitored elections in Nigeria over the past 20 years to map rightsholders based on their defining attributes. These attributes will include such variables as participation in voting, flashpoints, registration status, access to electoral resources (including registration/card collection points, polling units, INEC helpdesks). Through meetings with the key stakeholders, a community engagement strategy will be developed to guide the project at the grassroots while a high-powered engagement with stakeholders including the INEC, Federal Ministries of Interiors and Justice as well as the Presidency will also happen. This federal advocacy will seek to formulate a Framework for Voting within Custodial Centres in Nigeria. This framework will explore possibilities for voting within custodial centres and set the grounds for a pilot in the 2023 national elections.
The implementation of the developed framework for voting within Custodial Centers will be monitored by the project team ahead of the 2023 election, through support from the Presidency, election management body (INEC), the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Interior. Through the coalition of content creators, targeted sensitization of eligible voters will be amplified within the three (3) states of intervention – Enugu, Abuja, and Lagos.
Outcomes of this intervention will set the pace for enforcing the electoral right of inmates, awareness and an enabling environment for young people to vote.
-
-
Pollrite 23 is a brilliant concept by Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organization- an old grantee of Voice. This concept aims at ensuring voting rights for prisoners by the 2023 general election in Nigeria. This intervention will employ the use of data mining from the Independent National Electoral Commission and other organizations that have actively monitored elections in Nigeria over the past 20 years to map rightsholders based on their defining attributes. These attributes will include such variables as participation in voting, flashpoints, registration status, access to electoral resources (including registration/card collection points, polling units, INEC helpdesks). Through meetings with the key stakeholders, a community engagement strategy will be developed to guide the project at the grassroots while a high-powered engagement with stakeholders including the INEC, Federal Ministries of Interiors and Justice as well as the Presidency will also happen. This federal advocacy will seek to formulate a Framework for Voting within Custodial Centres in Nigeria. This framework will explore possibilities for voting within custodial centres and set the grounds for a pilot in the 2023 national elections.
The implementation of the developed framework for voting within Custodial Centers will be monitored by the project team ahead of the 2023 election, through support from the Presidency, election management body (INEC), the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Interior. Through the coalition of content creators, targeted sensitization of eligible voters will be amplified within the three (3) states of intervention – Enugu, Abuja, and Lagos.
Outcomes of this intervention will set the pace for enforcing the electoral right of inmates, awareness and an enabling environment for young people to vote.