Nigeria
Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country. This is a short description of prison conditions on a national scale. It gives an account of the preceding year’s events.
Nigeria: incarcerated people awaiting trial account for 64 per cent of the prison population
The Nigeria Correctional Service has revealed that awaiting trial incarcerated people account for 64 per cent of the total custodial population across the country, a development that highlights the persistent congestion in correctional facilities nationwide.Nigeria: critics allege lack of transparency in prison pardon, decongestion process
Fresh questions are being raised about Nigeria’s prison pardon and decongestion process following a recent exercise by the Lagos State Judiciary, as lawyers point to missing incarcerated people files, unexplained inclusions and exclusions, and allegations of irregular influence.
Nigeria: FG vows to end prison congestion, targets awaiting trial incarcerated people
The Federal Government has declared a decisive push to slash the number of incarcerated people languishing in custody without trial, describing the situation as a glaring injustice and a major driver of prison congestion nationwide.Nigeria: NGO demands prison audits, child rights protection, police accountability
A Lagos-based non-governmental organisation, Zarephath Aid (ZA), has called for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s justice sector, urging the judiciary and government agencies to go beyond speeches and take decisive steps to decongest correctional facilities, enforce child rights, and curb police excesses…Nigeria: policemen demand ₦300,000 bribe to release eight-month-old baby, mother held since march in Suleja prison
The Nigerian Police have been accused of demanding a ₦300,000 bribe to release a young mother and her eight-month-old baby, who have been illegally detained at the Suleja Prison, Niger State, since March 2025, SaharaReporters has learnt.Nigeria: Jos prison incarcerated people lament life of suffering, horrific meals, no medical care, no meat, no fish, "we're treated like animals, not humans"
Shocking details have emerged from within the Jos Custodial Centre in Plateau State, revealing a disturbing pattern of neglect, abuse, and systemic deprivation being endured by incarcerated people at the facility.Nigeria: Charles Okah in critical condition after suspected bomb blast at Maiduguri prison
Charles Okah, a high-profile incarcerated person at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre (MaSCC) in Maiduguri, is reportedly in critical condition following a suspected bomb explosion that rocked the facility.Nigeria: 65% of incarcerated people awaiting trial
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says over 65 per cent of incarcerated people are currently awaiting trial in correctional centers across the country. Afam Osigwe, president of the NBA, revealed this at the national executive council meeting of the association in Akure.Nigeria: Prison Fellowship Nigeria launches restorative justice initiative in Jos
Prison Fellowship Nigeria has officially launched its Restorative Justice, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration Project in Jos, the Plateau state capital. The initiative, designed to improve the criminal justice system through restorative practices, will span eight states.Nigeria: stigmatisation forcing formerly incarcerated people back to prison, NCoS laments
The Nigerian Correctional Service on Monday lamented that stigmatisation and societal rejection are forcing some formerly incarcerated people to return to its facilities. “The society is not ready to accept them. So they find it convenient to return to these prisons.”Nigeria: Sanwo-Olu frees 56 Lagos prisoners
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved the release of 56 prisoners from various correctional facilities across the state. In addition, the governor commuted the sentence of one prisoner on death row to life imprisonment and granted pardon to another prisoner.Nigeria: Seadogs advocates prison reforms, support for the marginalised
The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) through the Sahara Deck in Abuja and the Pentagun Deck in Maryland, USA, has embarked on a joint effort to advocate prison reforms and give support to the marginalized.Nigeria: Senate proposes death penalty for drug trafficking
Nigeria’s Senate proposed significantly toughening penalties for drug trafficking, making the death penalty the new maximum sentence through a law amendment.The amendment, which is not yet law, replaces life imprisonment, which was previously the harshest punishment.Nigeria: group advocates creation of rehabilitation centers to aid transition
As part of efforts to aid social and emotional transition from life in prison, not-for-profit organisation, Pain Is A Gift Initiative (PGI), has urged the Federal Government to create rehabilitation centers to provide mental support for the integration of freed inmates into society.Nigeria: three years after #EndSARS at least 15 protesters languish in Lagos jail
Three years after violent suppression of nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality, at least fifteen protesters arrested in 2020 are still being arbitrarily detained – the majority of them without trial – in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre and Ikoyi Medium Security Correctional Cent…
Nigeria: cientos de yihadistas liberan a más de 800 presos en el asalto a una cárcel
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