NCoS destroys 1,167 phones, sanctions 147 officers in crackdown on prison contraband

In a sweeping enforcement move aimed at tightening security across Nigeria’s custodial centres, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has destroyed 1,167 mobile phones and a range of other prohibited items recovered from facilities nationwide.

Sylvester Nwakuche, Controller-General of Corrections, disclosed this on Tuesday, describing the development as part of a sustained crackdown on contraband smuggling and internal compromise within the prison system.

According to Nwakuche, the destroyed items were confiscated over the past eight months and included smartphones, SIM cards, chargers, earpieces, and other unauthorised materials.

He stressed that the presence of such items inside custodial centres poses a grave threat to national security, as they enable inmates to coordinate criminal activities from within detention.

“Their presence within our facilities is unacceptable. They compromise security, disrupt discipline, and create channels through which criminal activities are sustained from within custody,” he said.

The Correctional Service boss explained that the destruction exercise was necessary to permanently remove the risk posed by the recovered devices, which cut across Android phones, iPhones, and basic button-operated handsets.

The NCoS also recovered a total of N2,569,000 in cash during the operations.

Nwakuche confirmed that the funds had been remitted to the government treasury in compliance with financial regulations.

The Controller-General revealed that 147 correctional personnel had been sanctioned for various offences, including complicity in the smuggling of contraband into custodial centres.

He noted that such illegal activities could not occur without insider involvement, warning that any staff found culpable would face strict legal consequences.

“The trafficking of contraband into our custodial centres cannot occur without some level of internal compromise,” he stated, adding that the Service would not shield any erring officer.

Nwakuche further disclosed that several external collaborators involved in smuggling operations had been arrested and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for prosecution.

Some of the suspects, he said, are already standing trial.

The NCoS said it has established a Special Crack Team tasked with strengthening intelligence gathering, surveillance, and enforcement across custodial facilities.

“The team played a key role in uncovering and intercepting the seized items”, he said.

The Controller-General issued a stern warning to correctional officers, visitors, contractors, and families of inmates against attempting to smuggle prohibited items into custodial centres.

He cautioned that offenders would face severe and uncompromising consequences, stressing that such acts are not minor infractions but direct threats to national security and the justice system.

“Do not conceal prohibited items in food, clothing, or personal effects. Do not test the integrity of this Service. The consequences will be severe,” he warned.

Nwakuche emphasised that the ongoing enforcement drive underscores institutional shift toward discipline, transparency, and accountability within the Service.

He warned that contraband smuggling fuels violence, sustains criminal networks, and can even facilitate escape attempts, thereby undermining the core mandate of correctional facilities.

“A custodial environment compromised by such activities ceases to serve its purpose. It becomes an extension of the very crimes we are mandated to correct,” he said.

The destruction of the seized items, he added, forms part of an efforts to restore order, strengthen internal controls, and ensure that custodial centres effectively deliver on their mandate of rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates into society.