Total inmate population now to 81,710 – NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics( NBS) says the total inmate population rose from 69,946 in 2017 to 81,710 in Q2 2025.

The NBS said this in its Nigerian Correctional Service Statistics for 2017 to Q2 2025 released on Wednesday in Abuja.

It said that the Q2 2025 figure of 81,710 represented a 16.82 per cent increase from the 69,946 recorded in 2017.

The bureau said that the report presented data from the Nigerian Correctional Service covering 2017 to Q2 2025, which included the prison inmate population, correctional centres capacity, unsentenced inmates, and admissions.

The report said that in Q2 2025, Lagos state recorded the highest inmate population with 9,209 inmates, and 4,167 Correctional Centres Capacity, showing an overcrowding ratio of 221 per cent.

It said that other states with high inmate populations were Ogun at 4,939, Kano at 4,667, and Enugu at 3,536.

“Conversely, Kogi had the lowest inmate population at 530, followed by Bayelsa at 696, and Benue at 777.”

The report said that the number of unsentenced inmates rose from 47,610 in 2017 to 53,790 in Q2 of 2025, representing a 12.98 per cent increase over the reference period.

It said that between 2017 and Q2 2025, the Correctional Centres’ Capacity increased from 53,752 to 65,035, representing a 20.99 per cent increase over the period.

The NBS said that at the end of 2024, Nigeria’s correctional facilities had a total of 176,536 inmate admissions across various offences.m

It said that remand/awaiting trial cases recorded the highest admissions with 94,614 inmates, while condemned cases had the lowest with 2,883 inmates.2

It said that in terms of type 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 that bribery and corruption recorded the least with 27, followed by cyber crime at 48, and smuggling at 118.