Abuja: The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported a significant rise in the total inmate population in Nigeria, increasing from 69,946 in 2017 to 81,710 in the second quarter of 2025. This information was detailed in the Nigerian Correctional Service Statistics for 2017 to Q2 2025, released in Abuja. The report highlights a 16.82 percent increase over the eight-year period.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the report compiles data from the Nigerian Correctional Service, covering various aspects such as the prison inmate population, correctional centres capacity, unsentenced inmates, and admissions during the period between 2017 and Q2 2025. Notably, Lagos state recorded the highest inmate population in Q2 2025 with 9,209 inmates and a correctional centres capacity of 4,167, resulting in an overcrowding ratio of 221 percent. Other states with high inmate populations include Ogun with 4,939 inmates, Kano with 4,667, and Enugu with 3,536 inmates.
Conversely, Kogi state had the lowest inmate population at 530, followed by Bayelsa with 696, and Benue with 777 inmates. The report also indicated an increase in the number of unsentenced inmates, rising from 47,610 in 2017 to 53,790 in Q2 2025, marking a 12.98 percent increase over the reference period.
The capacity of Correctional Centres has also seen an increase from 53,752 in 2017 to 65,035 by Q2 2025, representing a 20.99 percent growth. By the end of 2024, Nigeria’s correctional facilities had recorded a total of 176,536 inmate admissions across various offences. Remand and awaiting trial cases accounted for the highest admissions with 94,614 inmates, while condemned cases were the lowest at 2,883 inmates.
In terms of offences, stealing led to the highest number of admissions at 55,722, followed by other offences at 46,043, and armed robbery at 10,090. On the lower end of the spectrum, bribery and corruption saw the least number of admissions with 27, followed closely by cybercrime with 48, while smuggling figures were not specified.