According to Mr. Abubakar Umar, the spokesman for the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), there are 3,413 prisoners on death row at the country's correctional facilities.Umar stated to reporters on Friday in Abuja that as of "Monday, December 18, 2023," there were 77,849 prisoners housed in facilities around the nation, including 76,081 men and 1,768 women.
52,512 men and 1,324 women make up the overall number of Awaiting Trial Inmates (ATIs), according to an NCoS official, which stands at 53,836.
"Awaiting Trial Persons (ATP), who are detained, make up 69% of all prisoners. This phenomena presents us with enormous challenges, he stated.
He stated that the agency was making sure suspects were tried quickly in an effort to buck the trend.
He said that there had been no internal uprising within the prisons in 2023 and ascribed this to the fact that prisoners were provided with basic necessities.
He went on, "The NCoS's proactive efforts are one of the other factors."
"In and around custodial facilities, this is through the deployment of technology for surveillance and provision of logistics for rapid response," he clarified.
According to Umar, the service investigated interagency cooperation in enhancing security within and surrounding custodial facilities, with encouraging outcomes.
He stated that the Service was able to reduce the number of convicts in the detention centers because of the proactive approach and cooperation of Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister for Interior.
"The minister's initiative made sure 4,086 prisoners who were given the choice between a fine and compensation were released," he stated.
He claims that the year also saw advancements in the convict treatment program, particularly in the areas of reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration.
According to Umar, 1,840 prisoners took the 2023 NECO/SSCE, and a large number of them are enrolled in different academic programs at detention facilities across the country.
As you are aware, numerous prisoners are enrolled in various academic programs, including PhD degree courses, while they are in jail as a result of our collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
In terms of staff welfare, we are dedicated to enhancing employees' well-being since they play a crucial role in fulfilling service obligations.
This year, we not only added more barracks and office space but also promoted a large number of employees. We promoted around 20,000 men and officers in 2023 alone.
"We decorated 5,014 personnel who were just promoted on Thursday, December 22. This is on top of the 17,693 individuals who were promoted earlier in the year.We also implemented a number of palliative measures to lessen the hardship that the elimination of the gasoline subsidy caused for the staff.