The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has disclosed that 93 per cent of inmates in Nigeria’s correctional centres are state offenders, while only seven per cent are serving sentences for federal offences.
The minister also said that a significant number of those currently in custody should never have been incarcerated, describing their imprisonment as unnecessary.
Tunji-Ojo made the remarks on Wednesday during the Regional Conference on the Classification of Prisoners and the Use of Technology in Prisons in Africa, jointly organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the African Correctional Services Association.
According to the minister, the Federal Government has taken deliberate steps to decongest correctional facilities by reviewing the cases of inmates jailed for minor offences.
“93 per cent of our inmates in Nigeria are state offenders. Only seven per cent are federal offenders. Before this administration came on board, many of those in custody were serving time for minor offences that did not warrant incarceration,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo revealed that shortly after assuming office, he directed the Nigerian Correctional Service to compile data on inmates imprisoned over unpaid fines or compensation of less than ₦500,000.
The exercise, he said, identified more than 4,000 inmates whose continued detention was economically and practically unjustifiable.
“I asked myself, what is the sense in this? The government spends far more feeding them in a year than the fines they owe. We addressed the issue, and within one day, we decongested our correctional centres by five per cent,” he said.
The minister urged correctional authorities across Africa to reassess whether overcrowding in prisons was the result of appropriate sentencing, noting that many inmates were incarcerated for offences that could attract alternative forms of punishment.
He also disclosed that recidivism in Nigeria had dropped significantly under the current administration, from about 13,000 cases in 2023 to approximately 1,000 in the past year.
According to him, the improvement is largely due to expanded access to education, vocational training and rehabilitation programmes within correctional facilities.
Tunji-Ojo said 62 inmates are currently pursuing postgraduate studies, while 261 are enrolled in undergraduate programmes. He added that 1,125 inmates are receiving formal education, 18 National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) study centres now operate within correctional facilities, and 9,582 inmates are participating in vocational and non-formal rehabilitation programmes.
The minister further revealed that Nigeria has not recorded any jailbreak or attack on a correctional facility in the past three years, attributing the achievement to improved security measures, enhanced data management and stronger collaboration among security agencies.
He cited the case of an escaped inmate who was rearrested after attempting to obtain a Nigerian passport, explaining that biometric data shared among security agencies enabled immigration officials to identify and apprehend the suspect.
Also speaking at the conference, the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, said ongoing reforms under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, have strengthened the country’s correctional system.
He noted that effective prisoner classification helps identify security risks, protect vulnerable inmates, improve resource allocation and deliver tailored rehabilitation programmes.
Nwakuche added that integrating technology into correctional administration would improve record management, facilitate information sharing and enhance accountability, stressing the need for African correctional services to collaborate in addressing emerging security and rehabilitation challenges.