93% of Nigerian inmates are state offenders, many should not be in prison, says Tunji-Ojo

Speaking on Wednesday at 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 (ACSA) in Abuja, the minister said the federal government had embarked on reforms aimed at decongesting correctional facilities by freeing inmates jailed for minor offences.

According to Tunji-Ojo, an audit conducted shortly after he assumed office revealed that more than 4,000 inmates were serving time over fines and compensation orders of less than N500,000.

“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 there for minor offences that did not require incarceration,” he said.

The minister explained that he directed the permanent secretary in the ministry and the controller-general of the Nigerian Correctional Service to compile records of inmates detained over minor fines and compensation.

“When I became minister, I asked for the data of people in correctional centres for fines and compensation of less than N500,000. We discovered that over 4,000 people fell into that category,” he said.

He described the situation as economically unsustainable, noting that the government spent far more maintaining such inmates than the value of the fines for which they were imprisoned.

“What is the sense in this? Government spends more than 10 times the value of those fines feeding them every year. We addressed the issue and decongested our correctional centres by five per cent in a single day,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He urged African countries to critically examine whether overcrowding in their correctional facilities was justified, insisting that a large proportion of inmates across the continent were incarcerated for offences that could be addressed through non-custodial measures.

“The real question is whether your correctional centres are rightfully overcrowded. Once you examine the offences, you will realise that 30 to 50 per cent of inmates are there for offences that do not warrant imprisonment,” he added.

The minister also said Nigeria had recorded a significant decline in recidivism, with the number of repeat offenders dropping from about 13,000 in 2023 to approximately 1,000 last year.

He attributed the improvement to expanded rehabilitation programmes, including educational and vocational training for inmates.

According to him, 62 inmates are currently enrolled in postgraduate programmes, 261 are pursuing undergraduate degrees, while 1,125 are participating in formal education.

 He added that the Nigerian Correctional Service now operates 18 National Open University of Nigeria study centres within custodial facilities, with 9,582 inmates participating in vocational and non-formal education programmes.

Tunji-Ojo further disclosed that Nigeria had not recorded any jailbreak or attack on a correctional facility in the past three years, attributing the achievement to improved technology, biometric data integration and stronger collaboration among security agencies.

He cited the case of an escaped inmate who was rearrested after attempting to obtain a Nigerian passport.

“Immediately he submitted his biometric details at the Nigeria Immigration Service to obtain a passport, the system flagged him as an inmate. Immigration alerted the Correctional Service, and he was arrested on the spot,” he said.

Earlier, Sylvester Nwakuche, Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, said the country had continued to strengthen its correctional system through reforms driven by the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019.

Nwakuche said effective classification of inmates had become a vital tool for assessing security risks, protecting vulnerable prisoners, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and delivering tailored rehabilitation programmes.

He added that the adoption of technology would improve inmate record management, facilitate information sharing among security agencies and strengthen accountability within correctional institutions.

“No single correctional service has all the answers to today’s security and rehabilitation challenges.

“This conference provides a unique opportunity for African countries to exchange ideas, share practical experiences and develop collective solutions that will strengthen correctional systems across the continent,” he said.