THE recent collapse of part of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja, Niger State, underscores the depth of decay plaguing the Nigerian Correctional Service system. Beyond a simplistic name change from the Nigerian Prisons Service to the NCoS in 2019, the government must embark on urgent infrastructure and other reforms to decongest the custodial centers.
Nigeria lost significantly during the collapse on April 24. Overnight, torrential rainfall wreaked havoc on the center, where 119 inmates exploited the damaged walls to escape. Although 14 inmates were recaptured by security agents, the remaining 105, including hardened criminals, are on the loose. They pose a danger to society.
Most of the custodial centers are old and vulnerable to attacks by gunmen, who set criminals and bandits free. Consequently, jailbreaks have occurred in Owerri, Imo State, Kuje in the FCT, Kabba and Koton Karfe in Kogi, Abolongo in Oyo, Jos in Plateau, Mandala in Kwara, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun, and Agbor in Delta State in the recent past .
The NCoS lists over 570 escapees from its facilities. In July 2022, 64 hardened Boko Haram terrorists were part of the horde that escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Center after a deadly assault by Islamic terrorists.
Most of the custodial centers were built in the colonial era. They were meant to accommodate a limited number of inmates, especially political activists, and petty criminals.
For many years, the custodial centers have been stretched beyond their structural limits. The congestion, lack of adequate ventilation, and lack of basic amenities dehumanise the inmates. It gives room for the intermingling of hardened criminals, first-time offenders, and awaiting trial inmates.
The intended corrective measure of excluding convicted criminals from society and restricting their freedom of movement and association often fails.
In 2018, former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, during the presentation of the Nigerian Prisons Survey Report, lamented that the prisons could not reform the character of any criminal but could only convert humans to animals.
According to government data, there are 244 custodial centers in Nigeria with 80,507 inmates as of April 29. The prisons are overcrowded with convicted inmates at 25,033 and ATIs at 55,474 or a 31/69 per cent ratio. The Enough is Enough charity says that apart from the strain on the weak facilities, inmates are prone to disease, exposed to environmental hazards, and are fed at N750 per day, despite the pervading food inflation in the country.
The Suleja Prison was built in 1914 to house 250 inmates but houses over 499 inmates. As of 2023, the prison housed 530 inmates, among which 347 were awaiting trial. This replicates itself across the other custodial centers nationwide.
The situation is compounded by indiscriminate and unlawful arrests, delayed trial and prosecution of cases, and a sadistic bail system that constricts the rights of suspects.
The government dropped the ball on the prison system a long time ago. In realization of this, the Federal Government is constructing a 3,000-capacity facility in each of the six geo-political zones. Only the one in the North-West is open.
Elsewhere, prison reforms are dynamic. In Germany, the goal of the prison system is to correct, rather than punish. Most of the prisoners are mandated to engage in full-time work in 12 of the 16 German states. Prisoners in “open prisons” do not spend their time behind bars in Sweden; they live in housing that resembles dormitories with real freedom.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, should intensify the construction of these centers to make life better for inmates. Reforms should include both legal and non-custodial policies to decongest the prisons.
The Federal Government should collaborate with the governors to devolve prisons from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List.
