The Federal Government has disclosed it’s plans of allocating a total of N22.4 billion on feeding prison inmates, across the country.
The projected expenses are already allocated for in the 2023 Appropriation Act.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, highlighted that there has been a steady increase in the population of the custodial centres, with at least 80% of the inmates awaiting trial, during a two-day High Conference on Decongestion and Corrections Management held in Abuja, the nation’s capital city.
He claims that there are 244 detention facilities across the country with 75,507 inmates, making 82 of them overcrowded.
The total number of male inmates is 73,821 and female 1,686 female inmates, he noted.
Out of the 75,507 inmates, 52,436 are awaiting trial while 23,071 are convicted persons, with 3,322 as condemned inmates on death row, the government official disclosed.
3,298 Inmates Across the Country Are on Death Row – NCoS
Only a month ago, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) announced that 3,298 inmates in Nigeria’s prisons and detention facilities are currently on death row.
The Public Relations Officer of the Service, Abubakar Umar, disclosed this during an interview with journalists in Abuja.
However, he added that the NCoS Act 2019, which supports the correctional centres, has rendered the term “condemned criminal” obsolete and is stigmatising.
The term “Inmates on Death Row (IDR)” was favoured by the service, according to Umar, who emphasised that death sentences were not always carried out as soon as they were given.
He said: “There are often long periods of uncertainty for the convicted while their cases are being appealed at higher levels.
“Inmates awaiting execution live on what we call death row; some offenders have been executed more than 15 years after their convictions.
“They were basically awaiting the hangman’s noose in our custodial centres after being found guilty of capital offences.
“We have quite a number of them; as of today, we have a total of 3,298 inmates on death row. They constitute about 4.5 per cent of the total number of inmates in our various custodial centres nationwide.”
Umar said that some IDRs had been in custody for many years, adding that some had been there since they were arrested up to when they were tried and sentenced.
According to him, many of them committed capital offences like culpable homicide, armed robbery, and terrorism, among others.
He said: “The good thing is that we engage all of them in activities that will reform and modify their behaviours.
“The goal is to make them better citizens of the nation.
“We also make them undergo personal development programmes like anger management, civic education, as well as entrepreneurship.
“Some of them, who do well and show some glimpse of hard work, industry, and discipline, are recommended for clemency to the relevant authorities.”
Ada Peter
