93% Of Nigerian Inmates Are State Offenders, Many Should Not Be In Jail — Tunji-Ojo

Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has disclosed that 93 per cent of inmates in Nigerian correctional facilities are state offenders, arguing that a substantial number of them should never have been incarcerated in the first place.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Regional Conference on the Classification of Prisoners and the Use of Technology in Prisons in Africa in Abuja, the minister said prison congestion across the country is largely driven by offenders jailed for minor offences that could have been resolved through alternative sanctions.

The conference was jointly organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the African Correctional Services Association (ACSA).

According to Tunji-Ojo, only seven per cent of inmates are serving sentences for federal offences, while the remaining 93 per cent are state offenders.

"93 per cent of our inmates in Nigeria are state offenders. Only seven per cent are federal offenders. And of this 93 per cent, a lot of them were in correctional centres for minor offences that had no need for incarceration," he said.

The minister recounted how an audit ordered shortly after he assumed office revealed that thousands of inmates were being held over relatively small fines and compensation judgments.

He said he directed officials of the Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian Correctional Service to compile records of inmates imprisoned over such penalties.

"When I became minister, I requested the records of people in correctional centres because of fines and compensation. We discovered there were over 4,000 of them," he said.

Tunji-Ojo questioned the economic rationale behind keeping such offenders in custody at public expense, noting that the government spends significantly more feeding inmates than the value of the fines that led to their imprisonment.

According to him, the decision to settle the fines resulted in the release of more than 4,000 inmates and reduced congestion in correctional facilities by about five per cent in a single day.

He urged correctional administrators across Africa to examine whether prison overcrowding was being driven by offenders who could have been punished through non-custodial measures.

"The question is whether our correctional centres are rightfully overcrowded. You will realise that 30, 40 or even 50 per cent of inmates in some facilities are there for offences that do not warrant incarceration," he said.

The minister also disclosed that Nigeria had recorded a significant decline in recidivism under the current administration, with repeat offender cases falling from about 13,000 in 2023 to roughly 1,000 last year.

He attributed the improvement to expanded rehabilitation programmes, education and vocational training 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.

He said the initiatives are equipping inmates with education and practical skills needed for successful reintegration into society after serving their sentences.

The minister further stated that Nigeria has gone three years without recording a jailbreak or an attack on any correctional facility.

He attributed the achievement to improved security coordination, technology deployment and stronger information sharing among security agencies.

As an example, he cited the case of an escaped inmate who was rearrested after attempting to obtain a Nigerian passport.

According to him, the applicant's biometric data immediately flagged him as an inmate within the correctional database, prompting officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service to alert the Nigerian Correctional Service, leading to his immediate arrest.

Also speaking at the conference, the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, said Nigeria has continued to modernise its correctional system through reforms introduced under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019.

He described prisoner classification as an essential tool for identifying security risks, protecting vulnerable inmates, allocating resources efficiently and delivering targeted rehabilitation programmes.

Nwakuche added that technology would continue to play a critical role in improving correctional administration through better record management, information sharing and institutional accountability.

He stressed that no correctional service possesses all the solutions to today's security and rehabilitation challenges, calling for greater collaboration among African countries to strengthen correctional systems across the continent.