Yesterday, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced that the country would spend N22.4 billion on feeding prisoners in its various prisons.
The amount was budgeted for in the 2023 Appropriation Act, according to Dr. Shuaib Belgore, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, who made this announcement yesterday at a two-day conference on decongestion and corrections management in Abuja.
According to him, the prison population has been steadily growing, and at least 80% of the detainees are currently awaiting trial.
He stated, “There are 244 prisons nationwide, with a 75,507-inmate population, thereby leading to 82 of them being overcrowded.
“The total number of male inmates is 73,821 and 1,686 female inmates,â€
52,436 of the 75,507 prisoners are awaiting trial, 23,071 have been found guilty, and 3,322 are on death row as condemned prisoners.