Aladesanmi Joke Olamiposi

Aladesanmi Joke Olamiposi
Founder and Executive Director Centre for Legal Support and Inmate Rehabilitation (CELSIR)

Aladesanmi Joke is the Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Support and Inmate Rehabilitation (CELSIR). Joke is a Criminal Defence attorney with over 10 years of experience. Her passion for criminal justice reform developed while working with the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) where she had the opportunity to represent over 100 accused persons and victims of human rights violations.  Aladesanmi’s passion for criminal practice earned her the position to head several projects on Criminal Justice. In 2018, she served as the Project Manager of the Nigerian Coalition for the International Criminal Court and the African Network for International Criminal Justice. She is also a 2018 fellow of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, Ithaca, New York.

She started CELSIR out of her sheer desire to advocate for the rehabilitation of inmates, an aspect of the Nigerian Criminal Justice System she considers abandoned. Her passion for Inmate rehabilitation advocacy stems from witnessing the challenges faced by Ex-inmates due to stigmatization by society. She believes that this contributes significantly to the high rate of recidivism which can be reduced through effective rehabilitation. Since its incorporation, CELSIR has partnered with the Correctional Centre to assist Inmates with educational and vocational training that prepares them for a positive and productive lifestyle post – incarceration.