Each prisoner receives N750 worth of food each day, which explains why the food is appallingly inadequate while a dog receives N800 worth of meals every day. Records indicate that there were 80,804 prisoners in all Nigerian detention facilities as of November 2023, although this figure has dropped due to the detainees' gradual release and the recent offset of their fines by the Federal Government in collaboration with the business sector.
In the meantime, the NCoS has spent N60.6 million per day, or N22.12 billion annually, on feeding 80,804 prisoners. By comparison, the service is in charge of 900 dogs. Every day, the 900 dogs use N720,000 worth of food, or N262.8 million annually.
This indicates that the dogs receive 6.6% more food than they did the previous year, but there is no proof that any of those canines tried to repel the terrorists who broke into Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja or any other facility that has been targeted in the past.
Based on data gathered by The Guardian, there were 253 detention facilities in Nigeria with a combined total of 78,446 prisoners as of December 11, 2023. This indicates that N58,834,500 a day is now used to feed the prisoners.
There are 176 females and 76,670 males in this total. There are 50,401 prisoners awaiting trial—49,195 men and 1,206 women.
There are 3,271 prisoners on death row, 3,207 of them are men and 64 of whom are women.
Out of the 78,446 prisoners, 22,183 have already been found guilty. This means that 56,263 prisoners are awaiting trial, or 441% of the total number of prisoners now incarcerated.
In actuality, though, the prisoners eat food that is significantly less expensive than the N750 allotted to them because of official corruption that shows up in the procurement procedures and the claimed warder theft of products that are obtained.
According to the Guardian's inquiry, prisoners purchase food for themselves through proxies, such as amiable warders, obtain supplies from friends or family, and cook their own meals in certain centers because the majority of prison food is unsafe for ingestion.
Furthermore, prisoners purchase their own medications when they become ill in order to obtain over-the-counter medications that prison clinics never have in stock. They also pay to be transported to court on each postponed date; if they don't, the suspect will be held without charge or trial for eternity.
Prior to Senator Adams Oshiomhole, the Controller General of the NCoS, Haliru Nababa, publicly acknowledged that each dog receives a daily budget of N800, while each human receives a daily meal allowance of N750.
In response to the problems, NCoS Public Relations Officer Umar Abubakar stated that the organization has been struggling for years with funding shortages and government indifference.
Regarding the matter of feeding prisoners, he claimed that the funds were even lower initially, but they attempted to raise it to N1000 but were unable. He held the Ninth Assembly responsible for the disparity in nutrition between humans and dogs.
"When the budget was presented to the Ninth Assembly, it was wise of them to grant such approval. In the end, they also reduced the prisoners' daily food to N750 from the N1000 the agency had earlier asked in its budget.
Remember that there was far less money available in the past, but we argued that the amount spent to feed prisoners could not realistically be justified in light of the state of the economy now. Thus, while we suggested N1,000 for their nourishment, the just concluded National Assembly only approved N750.
He disclosed, "But we have also now forwarded a proposal that the N750 is not realistic because the cost of goods is increasing daily and as a result, the amount that is currently used to feed inmates needs to be reviewed upward because it is not realistic."
Abubakar claims that other nations place a higher priority on the welfare of their prison population and the Correctional Service. "Corrections are given a great deal of priority in other countries' correctional systems, and I must admit that this is a result of the system's long history of neglect at the hands of succeeding administrations."
"The Nigerian Correctional Service made a correct move when the NCoS bill was passed and signed into law, renaming the Nigerian Prison Service as the Nigerian Correctional Service. Because not all offenses are meant to result in incarceration, this raised the question of custodial and non-custodial sentences to clear our facilities, he said.
Law scholar and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Sam Erugo, expressed his opinions about the incident, saying that while the information is startling, he is not surprised.
He asserts that the revelations have multiple dimensions. He listed these as the government's deepening disrespect for human life and the value of living, the system's increasing imbalance, and systemic corruption.
It is well known that the value of citizens' lives and, fundamentally, their standard of life, is rarely taken into account by government programs.
"The minimum wage and the ongoing labor struggles over living wages serve as clear examples of this truth. He bemoaned, "We find that the security dog has more value and should be better fed than the prisoner, who may be innocent but is awaiting trial. The average Nigerian worker is not given a decent wage. The further implication, he said, is that the monthly expense of feeding a security dog comes very near to equaling the federal minimum wage.
Once more, it can just be a reflection of the system's imbalance—that is, the inequitable distribution or allocation of resources. Unfortunately, in this instance, the balance of power between security dogs and people was stacked against the citizens.
But from the standpoint of social justice, there is also a clear case of class society given how widespread the imbalance and blatant injustice in the system are among the populace.
For example, the discrepancy between employees' official salaries across different, and occasionally even the same, workplaces, may be concerning. The most notable is the disparity in wealth between persons holding political position and those employed in the public and private sectors.
Lastly, the revealed development might serve as a tipoff to unethical behavior. He emphasized, "In general, and basically, the news is depressing, especially when you consider that the average Nigerian law-abiding citizen does not have daily access to such funds supposedly expended daily on security dogs and prisoners."
Human rights advocate and attorney Bankole Kayode bemoaned the woefully little meal money, questioning whether the prisoners are being fed with the meager amount allotted to them. He bemoaned the fact that people could be treated so poorly while arguing that the funds set aside for the dogs' food may be reasonable given that those are particular breeds that require good nutrition in order to be trained.
In general, he said, "I feel that N750 per day as a feeding bill is grossly inadequate for anyone in Nigeria today." I wonder if the prisoners are fed three times a day and if so, how much they are fed each time.
Since those dogs are not members of the common species, I have no problem with the amount of money spent on their food. They need specialized training and nourishment in order to carry out their tasks effectively, so it pains me to learn that our Correctional Centers spend so little money on providing food for their inmates.
Remarkably, Dr. Olukayode Ajulo (SAN) has a different perspective on the matter. According to him, all Correctional Centers in desirable places ought to close, and the properties ought to be sold to generate money for schooling.
When asked where the prisoners would go if the facilities were sold, he said that a new, appropriate building could be constructed for them in a reasonably priced location.
In his own words: "In order to close this funding gap, I suggest looking into the sale of underutilized assets, especially the Correctional Centers in high-value locations in Nigeria, such as the Ikoyi Prison."
The market value of the Ikoyi Prison alone is projected to be over N50 billion, and the sale of these centers, which are scattered around Nigeria's affluent neighborhoods, may bring in roughly half a trillion naira.
"I am aware that selling Correctional Centers is a difficult decision that must be carefully considered, taking into account security issues, legal ramifications, and the need to maintain a fair criminal justice system. That being said, I think that, with the right planning and assessment, we can find a middle ground between meeting education's funding needs and making sure the correctional system runs smoothly.