Lagos — As Nigeria joined other parts of the world to celebrate Valentine's Day, yesterday, inmates at the Kirikiri Female Prison, Lagos, were not left out, as they were hosted to a banquet of celebration by the Prisons authorities.

Speaking at the occasion, Deputy Comptroller of Prisons in-charge of the Female Prison, Mrs Onwuli Isioma Leticia, explained that the celebration was a clear demonstration of what Valentine meant and also to facilitate the reformation process.

She said: "We actually want to show them love so that they can replicate it here and when they go out of here. Since everyone outside the prison wall is celebrating, we feel they deserve to celebrate also because being in prison is not the end of life. And to achieve reformation, the purpose for which they are here, they must be shown love."

Clad in red and white and other multi-coloured clothings, the inmates, perhaps for once, forgot about their confinement, as they displayed talents in dancing, drama, recitation and news broadcasting.

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard, the DCP stressed the need for installation of solar power in the prison, with a view to supplementing the Power Holding Company of Nigeria during power outage and also in the entire security of the prison.