Nigeria’s Correctional System Sees Pardon for Over 120 Inmates Amidst Overcrowding Crisis
In a significant move to address the severe overcrowding within Nigeria’s correctional facilities, four state governors have issued pardons to more than 120 inmates across various custodial centers in the past three months. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts to ease congestion within the nation’s correctional system.
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State began this effort on January 1 by releasing seven inmates and granting parole to one. In a similar vein, Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State and Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State also approved pardons for 56 inmates on the same day.
Further bolstering these efforts, Governor Lucy Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State granted pardons to 83 inmates on January 12 and February 25.
Recent data from the Nigerian Correctional Service reveals that the inmate population has soared to 79,669, significantly exceeding the system’s capacity of just over 50,000. Alarmingly, 52,771 of these inmates are awaiting trial on serious charges, including armed robbery and murder, which necessitate extensive investigations and prolonged court proceedings.
Sylvester Nwakuche, the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, highlighted that the number of inmates on death row has risen from 3,590 in September 2024 to 3,688 in March 2025. This increase emphasizes the ongoing challenges of overcrowding plaguing Nigeria’s prison system.
Nwakuche also expressed concern over the reluctance of state governors to execute death row inmates or to commute their sentences to life imprisonment, stating, “State governors are part of our challenges. They refuse to execute inmates on the death row; neither do they commute their death sentence to life imprisonment.”
