The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) data on the Summary of Inmate Population by Convict and Persons Awaiting Trial as of October 4th 2021 revealed that the facilities hold 37% more inmates than it is designed to.
According to Rob Allen, a consultant on prison, probation, and youth justice, overcrowding is defined as the percentage of the occupancy rate that is greater than 100 per cent. The percentage of inmates held by a correctional facility defines the facility’s occupancy rate and how overcrowded it is.
The NCS data shows that Nigeria’s correctional centres have the capacity to hold 50,083 inmates but they currently hold 70,056 inmates. When the total prison population is expressed as a percentage of the capacity figure, the occupancy rate is 137 per cent. And based on Allen’s definition of overcrowding, Nigeria’s NCS centres are overcrowded by 37 per cent.
The data also revealed that of the 70,056 inmates at the facility, 50,822 are awaiting trial. That equates to roughly 73% of the total. While only 19,234 inmates have been convicted, accounting for 27% of the total. As a result, at least 7 out of 10 Nigerian prison inmates are serving time without being convicted.
Overcrowding rate of correctional centres across geopolitical zones and states in Nigeria
In the absence of recent data on correctional facilities across all states, a Dataphyte review of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) prison statistics data for 2016 revealed that correctional facilities in all the geopolitical zones are either overcrowded or almost at full capacity with the exception of 3 states in the North East.
A review of the occupancy rate of the correctional facilities in the southwest revealed that 65 of the 6 states in the zone, Oyo, Ekiti, Lagos, Ondo and Ogun are overcrowded.
In Oyo and Ekiti, there are at least two (2) inmates occupying the space intended for one person while in Lagos, Ondo and Ogun, approximately two (2) inmates occupy the space intended for one(1) person. Osun state is almost at capacity with 95% but not overcrowded yet.
The story is not different in the south-south of Nigeria, only Cross river does not have an overcrowded facility although an occupancy rate of 97% indicates that it is close to being full and consequently overcrowded.
Rivers state has an occupancy rate of 327% which translates to at least three (3) inmates occupying the space intended for one (1) person. In Delta and Bayelsa, at least two (2) inmates occupy the space intended for one (1) person.
All the correctional facilities in the southeast are overcrowded. At least two (2) inmates occupy the space intended for one (1) person in Imo, Enugu and Anambra state.
The occupancy rate of correctional facilities in the North is lower than in the south. In the Northeast, for instance, Only Gombe and Bauchi correctional facilities are overcrowded. Gombe’s correctional facility has at least two inmates occupying the space intended for one (1) person.
The situation is similar in the northwest. Of the seven(7) states in the northwest, only two (2) of the states; Kano and Katsina have an overcrowding problem in theiir correctional facilities. Although an occupancy rate of close to 100% for Sokoto, Kebbi and Kaduna shows an almost overcrowded facility.
The correctional facilities are overcrowded in four states (4) out of seven (7) in the northwest region. Precisely, in Nasarawa and the FCT, there are at least two (2) inmates accommodated in the space intended for one (1).
Although this NBS data is from 2016, it is safe to assume that even facilities that were not overcrowded have now become so and the occupancy rate of overcrowded facilities has only increased over the years.
While federal governments and its agencies have made several commitments to expanding the capacity of prisons, there is only one such project undergoing construction located in Kano.
Causes of overcrowding
A report by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics noted that overcrowding in correctional facilities is due to inmates serving time without being sentenced. The report also highlighted flaws in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, with cases frequently dragging on for years without resolution.
While lengthy court proceedings are clearly a problem, the figures in the NBS report also revealed a concerning culture of arbitrary daily street raids by Nigerian law enforcement agencies.
Yet other studies have attributed the cause of overcrowding in the Nigeria Prisons to major policy default in implementation of increase in prison capacity syndrome and also prison decongestion strategies.
In July, non-governmental organizations and human rights activists condemned the call by the Honourable Minister of Interior. Rauf Aregbesola, asking state Governors to sign the death warrant on 3,008 inmates on death row across custodial centres in Nigeria. A popular criminal justice reform organization Carmelite Prisoners Interest Organization (CAPIO), questioned the possibility of 3008 inmates on death row being the reason why custodial centres are congested.
Impact on the health of inmates
According to a report by the European parliament, overcrowded prisons can lead to unsanitary, violent conditions that are harmful to the physical and mental well-being of prisoners. Moreso, McDonald in a report alluded that inmates are not guaranteed a healthy future if proper hygiene is not maintained as well a good diet is not guaranteed.
Way forward
The call for prison reform in Nigeria has become a recurring theme, as successive governments have failed to take concrete steps toward decongestion. As long as the problem of awaiting trial incarceration exists, increasing prison capacity could be one way to alleviate it, in addition to making the criminal justice system efficient in dispensing justice and putting a stop to arbitrary arrests and violations of human rights by law enforcement agents.