Nigerian governors responsible for prison congestion, says Comptroller-General

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has confirmed that state governors are contributing factors to prison congestion across the country, adding that as at the time of filing this report a total of 3,688 inmates are currently on death row across various correctional facilities in the country.

Penpushing reports that the Acting Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Sylvester Nwakuche, made this known on Wednesday during his screening before members of the Senate Committee on Interior in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Acting Comptroller who was nominated earlier in the week as substantive comptroller-general by President Bola Tinubu, stated that the number of inmates on death row increased from 3,590 in September 2024 to 3,688 in March 2025.

Penpushing further reports that Nwakuche pointed out that this situation shows the challenges of congestion within Nigeria’s prison system, stressing that the reluctance of state governors to either execute death row inmates or commute their sentences to life imprisonment is a major reason for prison congestion.

The Acting Comptroller explained that if these sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, the correctional centres could redistribute the affected inmates to rural correctional facilities, which are less congested compared to those in urban areas.

“Inmates on death row are now 3,688 from 3,590 in September 2024. State governors are part of our challenges. They refuse to execute inmates on the death row; neither do they commute their death sentence to life imprisonment’, he said

“This is because the issue of congestion is a major urban phenomenon. Our correctional facilities in urban centres are more congested than those in rural areas. If we commute them to life sentencing, we will be able to distribute them equitably,” he added.

Penpushing also reports that, beyond the issue of death row inmates, Nwakuche emphasised the urgent need for collaboration with security and justice institutions to tackle the challenges of awaiting-trial inmates, which also contributes significantly to prison congestion.

The Acting Comptroller noted that many inmates have been held in correctional facilities for years without trial, some even beyond the sentences they would have served if convicted.

“This is very important for any establishment to forge ahead. An establishment like correctional centres cannot do anything without collaboration. We are the ones at the recipient of the products of all the prosecuting agencies.

“When I met with the Inspector-General of Police, I said some of your inmates are in our facilities. They have stayed up to five or six years. Some of them are not needed to be in our facilities any longer.

“If they had been sentenced, some of them would not spend up to two to three years in prison. But they have stayed in our facilities for six years. For me, such persons should be discharged and acquitted. That is one area we must collaborate to decongest our facilities,” he said.

The Correctional centre boss explained that to address these issues, said he had initiated discussions with key security and legal institutions, including the Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), State Security Services and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

“I also met the Director-General of DSS (SSS) on the need for collaboration. I met the Attorney-General of the Federation for the same reason. Some of the inmates are waiting for the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution. If we do not reach out to these agencies, our people will continue to be in prisons unnecessarily,” he said.

Penpushing reports that the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, in his remarks assured Nwakuche that the committee would evaluate his performance and submit a report to the Senate.

The Acting Comptroller was accompanied to the screening by top officials of the correctional centre, including his Principal Staff Officer, Godwin Okosun, a Deputy Controller of Corrections, Babatunde Ogundare, and Assistant Controller General Ahmed Adagiri.

Penpushing further reports that record has it Nigeria is one of the countries yet to abolish the death penalty despite pressure from groups such as Amnesty International, while the state governors, who have the final power to approve the killing of death sentence inmates after judicial rulings, are reluctant to do so.

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