By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday, January 14, said the total inmate population increased by 16.82 per cent in eight years.
The NBS said the population rose from 69,946 in 2017 to 81,710 in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
The bureau disclosed this in its Nigerian Correctional Service Statistics for 2017 to Q2 2025, released on Wednesday, January 14, in Abuja.
It said the report presented data from the Nigerian Correctional Service covering 2017 to Q2 2025, including inmate population, correctional centres’ capacity, unsentenced inmates, and admissions.
The report stated that Lagos State recorded the highest inmate population in Q2 2025, with 9,209 inmates against a correctional centre’s capacity of 4,167, indicating an overcrowding ratio of 221 per cent.
According to the report, other states with high inmate populations were Ogun with 4,939 inmates, Kano with 4,667 and Enugu with 3,536.
“Conversely, Kogi recorded the lowest inmate population at 530, followed by Bayelsa at 696 and Benue at 777,” the report stated.
The report said the number of unsentenced inmates rose from 47,610 in 2017 to 53,790 in Q2 2025, representing a 12.98 per cent increase over the period.
It added that between 2017 and Q2 2025, correctional centres’ capacity increased from 53,752 to 65,035, representing a 20.99 per cent increase.
The NBS said that at the end of 2024, Nigeria’s correctional facilities recorded a total of 176,536 inmate admissions across various offences.
According to the report, remand or awaiting-trial cases recorded the highest admissions with 94,614 inmates, while condemned cases had the lowest with 2,883 inmates.
In terms of offences, stealing recorded the highest number of admissions at 55,722, followed by other offences at 46,043 and armed robbery at 10,090.
The report said bribery and corruption recorded the fewest admissions with 27 cases, followed by cybercrime with 48 cases and smuggling with 118 cases.
