The Nigerian Correctional Service has called on citizens to rethink their attitudes toward inmates, emphasizing the critical role of community support in successful rehabilitation and reintegration.

Speaking at a church forum in Ondo City, Ondo State, Deputy Comptroller of Correctional Services, Lieutenant Lateef Olanrewaju stressed that not all inmates are hardened criminals. Many, he noted, found themselves in prison due to unfortunate circumstances, some even as a consequence of acts of kindness gone wrong.

“We must stop seeing inmates as irredeemable. The truth is, anyone could have been in their shoes. No one is a saint,” Olanrewaju stated, referencing scripture that “all have sinned” to underline the universality of human fallibility.

He reminded attendees that the Nigerian Prison Service was renamed the Nigerian Correctional Service to better reflect its evolving mission— not just to punish, but to reform, rehabilitate, and ultimately reintegrate inmates into society.

Highlighting the complexity of human nature, Olanrewaju described man as a tripartite being, made of spirit, soul, and body, and urged Nigerians to support inmates holistically. “They need emotional, spiritual, and physical support. Some are even earning PhDs while serving time,” he revealed, pointing to educational programs in some correctional facilities.

Addressing common stereotypes, the Deputy Comptroller debunked popular myths of prison life as seen in movies, noting that while some offenses may warrant hard labor— which are usually court-ordered, yet, “corporal punishment and disciplinary activities are a form of exercise that do benefit inmates physically,” he asserted.

He concluded with a passionate appeal stating how some of these inmates will one day return to the society— either reformed or further broken, while emphasizing how that return depends, in part, on the care they receive from citizens.