The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has attributed overcrowding in correctional centres to the incarceration of offenders convicted of minor offences, saying many inmates should not have been sent to prison.
Tunji-Ojo stated this on Wednesday in Abuja during the Regional Conference on the Classification of Prisoners and the Use of Technology in Prisons in Africa, organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in collaboration with the African Correctional Services Association.
He urged correctional authorities across the continent to examine the real causes of congestion in their facilities, stressing that a significant percentage of inmates were imprisoned for offences that could have attracted alternative punishments.
According to the minister, between 30 and 50 per cent of offences committed by inmates do not justify custodial sentences.
He said, “Correctional authorities must ask themselves whether their facilities are genuinely overcrowded. When you examine the records, you will discover that between 30 and 50 per cent of inmates are serving sentences for offences that do not warrant incarceration.”
Tunji-Ojo disclosed that 93 per cent of inmates in Nigeria's correctional centres are state offenders, while only seven per cent are federal offenders, adding that many of those held by the states were jailed for minor infractions.
The minister recalled that shortly after assuming office, he directed officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service to compile records of inmates imprisoned over fines and compensation below N500,000.
“I was surprised to discover that more than 4,000 people were in custody over such matters. It made no economic sense because the government spends far more feeding them than the value of the fines. We addressed the issue, and within a day, the population of our correctional centres dropped by about five per cent,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo also revealed that recidivism had reduced significantly, dropping from about 13,000 cases in 2023 to around 1,000 in 2025.
He attributed the improvement to increased access to education and vocational training within correctional facilities, noting that dozens of inmates are currently pursuing postgraduate and undergraduate programmes, while thousands are enrolled in formal education and vocational skills acquisition.
Also speaking, the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, said ongoing reforms under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, had strengthened inmate classification and rehabilitation programmes.
He described effective prisoner classification as a key strategy for managing security risks, protecting vulnerable inmates and ensuring efficient use of correctional resources, while urging African countries to deepen collaboration in addressing common correctional challenges.
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