• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • Mohammed Idris Malagi, Honorable Minister of Information and National Orientation

      FG Reaffirms Non-Interference in ICPC, EFCC Operations

      ICPC Secures Conviction of Rector for Running Unaccredited Degree Programmes

      Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • NUPENG

      NUPENG Suspends Strike After Truce With FG, Labour, Oil Stakeholders

      Customs, Defence Bureau Unveil Airboat for Smuggling War

      Customs Begins Live Operations of Automated Excise Register System

      Still on the “National Single Window” Project By Abdulsalam Mahmud

      Minister of Finance Wale Edun and the Comptroller General of Customs Bashir Adeniyi decorating OP Olaniyan

      Customs Generates N3.7trn in H1 2025 as FG Targets Enhanced Private…

  • National
    • Officers of NSCDC Mining Marshals

      Mining Marshals and the Fight for Nigeria’s Mineral Future By Zekeri…

      NIPR Inducts 422 New Members, Urges Commitment to National Unity

      Renewed Hope and the Broadening Public Sphere By Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id

      FG to Schools: Get Certified Teachers or Lose WAEC Accreditation

      Troops Eliminate Terrorist, Rescue Kidnap Victims in Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna

    • Government
      • Renewed Hope and the Broadening Public Sphere By Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id

        FG to Schools: Get Certified Teachers or Lose WAEC Accreditation

        ECOWAS debt: Court Remands Ecobank Legal Head over Perjury, defamation of…

        Femi Fani-Kayode FFK

        Fani-Kayode Denies Interest in NFA Chairmanship

        Food Items

        Crash Food Prices – Tinubu Orders FEC Committee

  • Security
    • Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      Police Chief Tasks Border Patrol Commanders on Enhanced Security

      Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar NAF Chief

      Air Chief Links Fiscal Discipline to Nigeria’s National Security, Operational Readiness

      Army Arrest Notorious Cattle Rustlers, Recover Arms in Plateau

      Troops Repel Bandits’ Attacks in Kaduna, Katsina, Recover Rustled Cattle

      Officers of NSCDC Mining Marshals

      Mining Marshals and the Fight for Nigeria’s Mineral Future By Zekeri…

  • Features
    • Officers of NSCDC Mining Marshals

      Mining Marshals and the Fight for Nigeria’s Mineral Future By Zekeri…

      Omoyele Sowore, Bayo Ononuga and Adeola Ajayi

      Sowore’s Provocation, Onanuga’s Plea and the DSS Overreach

      Renewed Hope and the Broadening Public Sphere By Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id

      Traffic officials tolling the vehicle at the scene in Abuja

      SPECIAL REPORT: Extortion, Blood and Impunity Behind Abuja’s Agbero Menace

      MUST READ: Why Everyone Should Use AI for Writing, With Pride…

  • State
    • Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      Police Chief Tasks Border Patrol Commanders on Enhanced Security

      Army Arrest Notorious Cattle Rustlers, Recover Arms in Plateau

      Troops Repel Bandits’ Attacks in Kaduna, Katsina, Recover Rustled Cattle

      Military Troops in Action

      Army Rescue 17 Kidnap Victims in Kogi State

      His Royal Highness, the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari,

      Emir of Ilorin, CP Lead Special Prayers Against Insecurity in Kwara

  • Event
    • NIPR Inducts 422 New Members, Urges Commitment to National Unity

      Baze University Management visits TETFUND, Showcases Tech-Driven Growth, National Impact

      PHOTOS: BUK Alumni Association Launches Digital Hub to Unite Global Graduates,…

      Founder Image Merchant Promotion Ltd, Yushau Shuaib, Nigeria Customs CG, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the IPRA representative during the 2024 GWA awards in Belgrade, Serbia

      Again, ​IPRA Shortlists Nigeria Customs, IMPR for Golden World Awards, Celebrates…

      BUKAA Announces 2025 AGM at BUK New Campus: Join In-Person or…

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home General PRAWA Too few prisoners in Nigeria
  • General
  • PRAWA

Too few prisoners in Nigeria

By
Daily Trust
-
March 17, 2017
Jaafaru Ahmed CG Nigerian Correctional Service NCos Prison
Jaafaru Ahmed CG Nigerian Correctional Service NCos Prison

The Nigeria Prisons Service [NPS] said recently that as of March this year, there are 68,250 inmates held in prison facilities all over the country. Controller General of Nigeria Prison Service Ja’afaru Ahmed was quoted as having disclosed this figure to Economic Confidential. He said, “As at March 6, 2017 total inmates population stands at 68,259. Out of this number, 46,351 are awaiting trial while the remaining 21,903 are convicted. In terms of percentage, the convicted is 32 percent while awaiting trial persons are 68 percent. However, the figures are not static as they go up and down.”

At first sight this figure might look large but, according to one expert, it is actually very small in relation to our population. Retired Comptroller of Prisons for Planning, Research and Statistics Ifediorah Orakwe said Nigeria’s prison population is “very low, and it is as a result of the criminal justice system that is not performing. And that is why you have criminals everywhere because if the criminal justice system becomes dynamic and functional, we will have close to 300,000 prison inmates, to match our population.” Experts have long shown that countries such as the US have nearly three times as many prisoners as a proportion of their population than we have, which means Nigerians are seriously under-imprisoned.

Mr Orakwe said, “When you see a population of more than 180 million in this modern world with a prison population of 68,000 it means that this place is without crime. I leave you to judge whether we are without crime or not.” Using this logic, there should probably be ten times as many prisoners in Nigeria as there are presently because by all accounts we are a nation of many law breakers, from traffic laws to theft to fraud to corruption to capital offences.

Read Also:

  • Police Chief Tasks Border Patrol Commanders on Enhanced Security
  • Air Chief Links Fiscal Discipline to Nigeria’s National Security, Operational Readiness
  • Army Arrest Notorious Cattle Rustlers, Recover Arms in Plateau

If Nigerians go to prison in much smaller numbers than either our population or our national character justifies, why is it that all our prisons suffer from chronic congestion? Every prison facility in Nigeria holds much more than its capacity of prisoners; some have almost thrice the number of prisoners they are meant to hold. This means that the rate at which we built prison facilities is far below target and if only our justice system were to buckle up and apprehend everyone who commits any type of crime in Nigeria, then our prisons will be so congested that there may be only enough room to stand up.

As Comptroller General Ahmed explained, NPS has no control over the number of prisoners that come to it and it cannot reject them on grounds of lack of space, such as a hotel, a school or a hospital can. He described prison as the last bus stop of the criminal justice system and said, “So long as anybody knocks on the door with a valid warrant and appropriate papers, we have no option but to receive such persons.” That means courts can keep sending people to prison without regard to their carrying capacity.

A related problem is the very high proportion of awaiting trial persons as opposed to convicted prisoners. Orakwe said, “If you come into a prison, if the population is 2,000, 1800 or thereabout should be convicted prisoners” but in Nigeria, 68% of all the inmates today are awaiting trial. This is the best proof yet of the dysfunctional, not to say broken down nature of the criminal justice system wherein the prosecutors and the courts are unable to speedily and efficiently bring cases to a conclusion. Instead, some people continue to stand trial for many years and the prison service is left holding the hat. It is time to do something very serious about this system.

Source: DailyTrust

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
Previous articleTroops Arrest Dumb Terrorist with Charms
Next articleCourt knocks off EFCC Witness in Dasuki Trial
Daily Trust
Daily Trust

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

PRNigeria logo fearured image

How to Strengthen Correctional Reforms – Minister, Experts

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Kano State

Gov. Yusuf approves employment of 70 lawyers to boost legal sector

MNJTF, LAKE CHAD

MNJTF troops neutralise terrorists recover critical Assets in Borno-Nigeria

MNJT Troops

MNJTF troops repel terrorists’ attack, neutralize scores, recover weapons in Borno

NAF Airstrike fighter jets

NAF airstrikes neutralize terrorists in Lake Chad region 

NSCDC Female Squad

NSCDC records 113 gender-based violence cases, convicts 2 in Adamawa

Nigerian Navy

Nigerian Navy to Conduct Joint Amphibious Exercise with Army, Air Force

Gen CG Musa: Peacemaking and Civil-Military Relations  

Explosives Recovered in Maiduguri, Preventing Potential Disaster

Muhammed Badaru Abubakar, Minister for Defence

At Kano Trade Fair, Badaru Seeks Support for Military to boost Security, Economic Growth

College Images of Defence Minister, Muhammed Badaru and other stakeholder in Southeast region

Defence Minister Meets South-East Stakeholders to Boost Security

Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

Nigeria Customs Service Denies Rumors of Salary Increase

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Log in to leave a comment

Recent Posts

  • Police Chief Tasks Border Patrol Commanders on Enhanced Security
  • Air Chief Links Fiscal Discipline to Nigeria’s National Security, Operational Readiness
  • Army Arrest Notorious Cattle Rustlers, Recover Arms in Plateau
  • Troops Repel Bandits’ Attacks in Kaduna, Katsina, Recover Rustled Cattle
  • Mining Marshals and the Fight for Nigeria’s Mineral Future By Zekeri Idakwo Laruba
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
Police Chief Tasks Border Patrol Commanders on Enhanced SecurityAir Chief Links Fiscal Discipline to Nigeria’s National Security, Operational ReadinessArmy Arrest Notorious Cattle Rustlers, Recover Arms in PlateauTroops Repel Bandits’ Attacks in Kaduna, Katsina, Recover Rustled CattleMining Marshals and the Fight for Nigeria’s Mineral Future By Zekeri Idakwo LarubaNIPR Inducts 422 New Members, Urges Commitment to National UnitySowore’s Provocation, Onanuga’s Plea and the DSS OverreachNigerian Troops Intercept Ransom Money, Recover 160 Rustled CattlePolice Nab 'Obi of Lagos,' Foil ₦1.5 Billion New Palace FraudRenewed Hope and the Broadening Public Sphere By Ahmed Balarabe Sa’idArmy Rescue 17 Kidnap Victims in Kogi StateFG to Schools: Get Certified Teachers or Lose WAEC AccreditationEmir of Ilorin, CP Lead Special Prayers Against Insecurity in KwaraTroops Eliminate Terrorist, Rescue Kidnap Victims in Sokoto, Katsina, KadunaECOWAS debt: Court Remands Ecobank Legal Head over Perjury, defamation of Judge character
X whatsapp