Nigeria’s Death Row Inmates Increase as NCoS Blames State Governors for Inaction
The number of prisoners on death row in Nigeria has risen from 3,590 in September 2024 to 3,688 in March 2025, marking a 2.73% increase within just six months.
This revelation came from Sylvester Nwakuche, the acting Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), during his screening before the Senate Committee on Interior on Wednesday.
Nwakuche pointed fingers at state governors, accusing them of stalling the legal process by neither carrying out executions nor commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.
“State governors are part of our challenges. They refuse to execute inmates on death row; neither do they commute their death sentences to life imprisonment,” he said.
According to him, converting death sentences to life imprisonment would help ease congestion in urban correctional centers by allowing the relocation of inmates to less crowded rural facilities.
Nwakuche highlighted that prison congestion remains a critical issue, especially in urban centers, where facilities struggle to accommodate rising numbers of inmates.
To tackle this, he emphasized the need for stronger collaboration with security agencies to address the growing population of inmates awaiting trial.
“Correctional facilities are at the receiving end of all prosecuting agencies,” he noted, referring to institutions like the Nigeria Police, EFCC, DSS, Customs, Immigration, and ICPC.
He further disclosed that many inmates have remained in detention for years without trial, with some awaiting legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
“Some inmates have been in our facilities for five to six years without trial. If they had been sentenced, some would not have even served up to two or three years. This needs to change.”
The acting NCoS boss revealed that he had engaged with top security officials, including the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of DSS, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, to find solutions to prison congestion.
His appeal underscores the urgent need for judicial and administrative reforms to decongest correctional facilities and ensure fair and timely justice.
Meanwhile, Adams Oshiomhole, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, stated that the panel would submit a report evaluating Nwakuche’s performance and the state of Nigeria’s correctional system.
