53,836 prisoners nationwide are awaiting trial, according to official

As of December 18, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) reported that 53,836 prisoners are awaiting trial throughout 253 correctional facilities in the country.

Assistant Controller of Corrections (ACC) spokesperson Abubakar Umar spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

According to Umar, during the review period, there were 77,849 prisoners nationwide, broken down by conviction and those awaiting trial.

He added that there were 24, 013 convicts overall, with 23,569 male convicts and 444 female convicts, respectively, making up the number of convicted prisoners.

According to statistics, 31% of prisoners at Custodial Centers are convicted of a crime, while 69% of inmates are genuinely awaiting trial.

According to Umar, one of the service's problems was the deterioration of the facilities used for custody, which led to crowded and confined areas inside the centers.

In order to relieve congestion in the current centers, he said that the government had lately built 3,000 ultramodern new custodial facilities throughout the six geopolitical zones.

According to him, the program will improve the welfare and health of the prisoners while also aiding in the decongestion of the facilities.

"That of Kano has been inaugurated, and we anticipate the remaining facilities under construction to be completed quickly," he stated.

He continued, saying, "The ongoing construction of the Port Harcourt and Abuja centers had reached completion stages and they would soon be inaugurated."

In an effort to reduce prison overcrowding nationwide, he expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for obtaining N585 million to pay prisoner penalties.

Additionally, he applauded the federal government's recent efforts to release 4,068 prisoners serving varying sentences.