Hunger in Nigeria’s correctional centres is unacceptable

The news of scandalous feeding culture in the country’s correctional centres has been filtering into society from various sources for many years now. Officials of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) would always, in a formulaic manner, dismiss such reports and call for more funding from the federal government. However, a recent exposé by a committee […]

The news of scandalous feeding culture in the country’s correctional centres has been filtering into society from various sources for many years now. Officials of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) would always, in a formulaic manner, dismiss such reports and call for more funding from the federal government. However, a recent exposé by a committee set up by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to probe the allegations, has provided credible and incontrovertible evidence that the government must never ignore.

The secretary of the independent investigative panel, Dr Uju Agomoh, did not mince words when she told journalists recently that “During our inspection visit as a panel, in February 2025, there was no food up to the approved weekly standards by the Service. The stock they are supposed to have for at least seven days, as it is the practice, is not being implemented. This is about being open to knowing where the problem is, because many inmates are dying due to a lack of food. I have personally been going to correctional centres for more than 30 years but I have never seen what we see these days. First, the quantity that is provided is small. Second, this drive for profit-making worsens the process. The officers in charge are one of the checks and balances for the contractors.”

The report by the investigative panel aligned with the experiences of many inmates and ex-inmates interviewed by the Daily Trust recently.  They claimed that inmates died in our correctional centres due to hunger. One of those interviewed in Maiduguri said, “Government is treating these inmates like animals, not as human beings. The contractor feeding the inmates always complains of the high cost of food items, and therefore, cannot provide sufficient food items to cook for the inmates. What they do now is rationing. At the end of every month, they cut down the number of times inmates eat. For instance, in a week, if the inmates eat rice four times and beans three times, they will reduce their consumption to two or three times a week and replace them with less expensive stables like garri. At times, they will even skip meals to cope with the situation.”

The horrible feeding of inmates in our correctional centres is contrary to the Provisions of Section 176 of the Nigerian Prison Standing Order of 2011. It states clearly that, “Every prisoner shall be allowed a sufficient quantity of plain and wholesome food, regard being had to the nature of the labour to be performed by him. Prisoners should be provided with sufficient rations of a balanced diet. An awaiting trial prisoner and a debtor may provide themselves with food and other necessaries in the same way as a debtor, and if he does not desire to do so, shall receive the regular prison allowance of food.”

• NIGERIA DAILY: How Poor Power Supply Is Crippling Businesses In Northern Nigeria
• Accidental discharge kills boy in Kaduna

Though officials of the NCoS have vigorously assailed these kinds of reports, claiming that the investigative panel did not provide evidence to back their submission, Nigerians cannot buy their defence. Apart from the funds, the federal government budgets for feeding inmates, many non-governmental organisations and philanthropists donate food items, toiletries, clothes and other necessities to our correctional centres regularly to ensure an improved welfare for inmates. But the lion’s share of such donations is alleged to be diverted by officials for their personal use. It is shameful and condemnable. Worse still, many of the inmates are not condemned criminals; they are those awaiting trial, who may be innocent but horded into our correctional centres by our corrupt and bastardised justice system. As of 2022, there were as many as 121,896 remand/awaiting trial inmates, as against 795 inmates facing life sentences, 1,133 condemned to death, and 9,991 sentenced to long prison terms. From this data, it is clear that thousands of maltreated prisoners may not be convicted of any crime. Some may be innocent, but they have been subjected to such harrowing experiences by the country’s weak judicial procedure.

Since the inception of the current democratic epoch in 1999, prison reform and decongestion programmes have been on the agenda of successive governments. It has gulped a lot of funds, but instead of changes, the country witnessed a deterioration and degeneration of standards in our correctional centres. The record prison outbreaks signal the inhumane and unbearable conditions in our prisons. The previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, in its attempt to rebrand, changed the name from prisons to correctional centres, following the tradition in the United Kingdom. However, the condition here in Nigeria is a far cry from the quality of life in UK prisons.  There, the feeding schedule is as follows: breakfast is made up of cereal, porridge, toast with spreads, tea, or coffee; lunch (sandwiches, rolls, salads, or simple hot meals like soup or pasta); and dinner (a hot meal such as chicken curry, sausages and mash, or vegetable-based dishes, served with sides like rice, potatoes, or vegetables).

Most times, when the poor condition in Nigeria’s correctional centres is on the front burner, the ready suggestion is that the federal government should increase financial allocations to the department. The remedy is not to pump more funds into the correctional centres but to properly supervise NCoS to ensure that funds are judiciously applied and corrupt officials are punished or booted out. The government must burst the evil, wicked and corrupt cartel in our prisons. They must be held accountable for all the financial allocations from the government, humanitarian organisations and individuals, to who support our prisons daily. We need to call a spade a spade, for once.