Awaiting trial inmates account for about 64% of Nigeria’s custodial population, the Nigeria Correctional Service has said, highlighting growing congestion across the country’s correctional facilities.
The Controller-General of the Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, disclosed this while presenting the agency’s 2025 budget performance and its proposed ₦198.85bn ($ amount equivalent) budget for 2026 to the House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions in the capital, Abuja.
Mr Nwakuche said that as of 9 February 2026, Nigeria’s total inmate population stood at 80,812.
Of these, 51,955 inmates were awaiting trial, while 24,913 had been convicted. Another 3,850 inmates were held under other detention categories.
He said the figures reflected continued pressure on correctional facilities, stressing the need for increased funding and expanded infrastructure to address overcrowding.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about the state of the country’s prisons.
The chairman of the House committee, Chinedu Ogah, called for urgent reforms, increased funding, and presidential approval of the Correctional Service Trust Fund Bill.
He described the correctional service as vital to national security but said it remained poorly funded.
Mr Ogah added that many correctional centres were built more than a century ago and had significantly deteriorated, contributing to operational challenges and repeated security breaches.
Officials say improving infrastructure and funding will be key to addressing congestion and strengthening Nigeria’s correctional system.
