CORRECTIONAL CENTRES OF DEATH: Nigerians share grim stories of inhumanity inside the high walls

•Our cells have always been overcrowded – Prison activist, Williams •Seventy, eighty people are cramped in prison cells, survivors narrate Following the death of 37 young Nigerians arrested allegedly for illegal gold mining by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence (NSCDC) custody, Gboyega Alaka, beams a searchlight inside the huge correctional centre walls, as former inmates share their experiences. But for the huge number of innocent Nigerians who died in the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State recently, Nigeria and indeed Nigerians would just have moved on, as if nothing was amiss, at least with the Nigerian Correctional Centre system and other detention facilities.

However, the unfortunate death of those 37 young Nigerians in the custody of the NSCDC, a good number of them children between 14 and 18, on Thursday September 17, 2026, actually outraged everyone and got tongues wagging.

Outspoken Senator Shehu Sani, in a post on his X handle, actually acknowledged the horrible situation, inadvertently admitting that it was nothing new, when he described a congested cell as ‘hell’.

In that post, he even acknowledged the danger, when he wrote: “For those of us who have experienced prolonged detention in a crowded cell, we know the cruelty of the dungeon – the darkness, the asphyxiation, the sweat, the pungent odour, and the tears.

“When the heat becomes unbearable, one can only use a spoon or a plate to bang on the wall for some oxygen. If they refuse to open up for a temporary breeze of fresh air, blood can ooze from the nostrils, and then one can only shout and give up

“A congested cell is hell on earth. It is a place where bringing your nose close to the window to breathe is a rare privilege reserved for the strong.

“I can feel what happened to the Niger minors. Those who are directly or indirectly involved in this must face the full wrath of the law for the rest of their lives.”

Recall that Sani hasn’t been in any of the facilities for quite a while.

Recall also that at the aftermath of that incident, Sani stated that prisons should not be viewed as places of punishment, arguing that inmates are not necessarily evil people.

Speaking through a representative at the 1st Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Security, Welfare Agenda (SWAC) Conference Graduation Ceremony in Kaduna, Sanni said his personal experience during incarceration in Kaduna prison gave him a deeper understanding of prison life.

Senator Sanni is not the only notable Nigerian who has experienced the horrible situation in Nigeria’s ‘prisons’, now for want of a better nomenclature, we now refer to as ‘correctional centres’.

What correction, you may ask, when nearly a hundred people are cramped into a normal room size cell?

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, before he became president in 1999; Chief Bode George; even Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, albeit for a short while, are some of the notable Nigerians with strong, compelling voices, who have had a taste of the bitter life in the ‘prison’ cells.

Somehow, they’ve come out and moved on as if nothing was amiss or that something outrageously cruel wasn’t taking place behind those high walls. Admitted, they have the means to pay their way for comfort. One of the former inmates spoken to called it “planning well well.”

Yes, an inmate, whether ‘awaiting trial’ or sentenced, is expected to plan with his or her parents or loved one to pay something for his ‘comfort’; in which case he gets a slightly better treatment.

Admitted also that Obasanjo, working with his ‘senior’ in the ‘school,’ Bishop Kayode Williams, Founder/ Director General, Prisons Rehabilitation Mission International, now 73, tried a bit in that regard, appointing Williams as a member of the Prisons Rehabilitation committee. But how much changes were recorded, and why didn’t he persist as a president in power who had all the so-called federal might, and even after office?

Although an attempt was made to blame it on a disease outbreak, an intelligence report seen by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) later suggested overcrowding and inadequate ventilation.

Testimonies from two survivors interviewed by journalists further confirmed the over-crowded cell story.

One of them, David Shehu said, “We were jam-packed in the cell, no ventilation for us to breathe well. All of a sudden we realised that we could not breathe and we were all scampering for where to get fresh air, we even appealed to them several times, banged the cell door, but they refused to answer us.”

The other, who craved anonymity, told the AFP that he was only lucky to survive because he was near the cell’s entrance and could breathe better. “We were screaming for help, telling them people were dying one after the other, (but) they did not believe us. ”

What manner of inhumanity could ignore the desperate plea of scores of youths?

Expectedly, protesters took over the streets of Minna, while distraught relatives raining curses on the NSCDC, the government and everyone they deemed involved in whatever led to the death of their wards.

Nigerian prisons have always been congested – Prisons activist, Williams

Bishop Kayode Williams, Founder/ Director General of Prisons Rehabilitation Mission International, reacting to the incident told The Nation that the issue of congestion and overcrowded cells in Nigeria is not new, stating unequivocally that: “Nigerian prisons have always been congested.”

Williams, who said he was talking as someone who “has been Physically inside”, having served a ten-year jail term in the late 60s up to 1970, and who upon being released became born-again and took up prisons reform advocacy, said the only thing that has changed is the name.

“The only thing that has changed is the name, which they changed from ‘prison’ to ‘correctional service center’ – if you can call that an improvement. It’s like when you put a corpse in sepulcher; the outside will be very beautiful because you decorate it, while inside will be very, very bad and smelly because the deceased flesh and bones are rotting away.”

Williams, who got a presidential pardon from former President Olusegun Obasanjo in recognition of his prison reform advocacy, stated further: “Yes, a lot of money has been pumped into making the prison yard looks fine, but so many things have been going wrong. The lock-up in the prison, particularly in the urban areas, is still very high. At times, they lock up over 2,000 inmates in maximum in Kirikiri; sometimes 3,000. Another problem that is well-pronounced is that the number of ‘awaiting trial’ inmates is over 70, 80 per cent of the total population of inmates. So the convicted inmates are not as many as those awaiting trial. Unfortunately, some of them will be there for 5, 10, 15 years, still awaiting their trial, whereas the convicted who are supposed to be residents of the prison are scanty. Meanwhile, the federal Government does not make provision for the ‘awaiting trials’ because they don’t see them as their responsibility.”

Williams would, therefore, rather a situation whereby cases involving those awaiting trial are quickly dispensed with, so that the government can be properly focused on the inmates proper for rehabilitation.

“This was my thought when I came out with the theory of how we can make the prison progressive in reformation. I came out with the four prison Rs – Reformation, Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Resettlement. The aim was to reduce the population because majority of them are awaiting trials and shouldn’t be permanently resident there. Their cases need to be quickly disposed of. However, the delay from the criminal justice system did not give the necessary backup to those theories.”

Since serving his term, the clergyman has devoted his whole life to Christian ministry, which involves extending the message of the gospel to the inmates and also advocating reforms in Nigerian prisons, based on personal experiences across some Nigerian prisons.

“What I do now is devoted all my strength to make connections both internally and outside Nigeria. Internationally, I look for countries that can give the Federal Republic of Nigeria the best training on reformation; and I discovered the Scandinavian countries. Most of the prisoners in those countries have come out, such that almost all their prisons have been closed down and are now being remodeled as five-star hotels. Other European countries such as Poland, Holland export their prisoners to the Scandinavian countries to be trained and reformed, because they follow the system of reformation, rehabilitation, reintegration and resettlement.

“But here, even if you are not productive, they still make you remain adamantly unproductive; because there is nothing to give. They say they have a carpentry section, a tailoring section, but what equipment are they working with? What are they producing from their factories? In other countries, their factories produce the caps, the berets, the buttons, the boots that prison officers are using. In our own case, we put our inmates to work in the carpentry without sufficient funds – no materials, no equipment that are super; so they practically learn nothing at the end of the day? Things are even a bit better now that they’ve introduced universal education through Open University systems.”

Speaking specifically to the issue of congestion or overcrowded cells, Bishop Williams said: “The lockup at the time I served, though high, is not as high as what we have today. Maybe Agodi in Ibadan and Maximum had the highest lockup then. I was at different times at Agodi in Ibadan, Kirikiri in Lagos as a lodger (on transfer) and In Sokoto prisons. The number of inmates we had then would be about half of what we have now. So if we look at the ratio, it’s about 50% then to 100% now. It is worse in prisons in urban areas. In Kirikiri now – medium, maximum and female prisons, for example, they have higher numbers – 3000, 2000, 1000 plus. Those are facilities that are supposed to lock up say about 400, 500. And these days, things have gone very riotous. We now have more people cramped into the facilities because it is not only stealing that is reigning now or trending. Drug addicts are all over. Take Kano Prison for instance. Jesus Christ! I was in Kano Prison when I started this mission as Director General of Prison Rehabilitation Mission International upon my release from prison. I went there with Oba Adedapo Adewale Tejuosho, the Oshinle of Okeona of Egba land, the Chairman Governing Council of our organisation. By the way Chief Afe Babalola is chairman, Board of Trustees, while former Olusegun Obasanjo, because he was also an ex-student, having served time before, is also our staunch supporter.

“Kanu prison is the worst. It is so over congested, and it is still the old dilapidated buildings of those days. They may not like what I’m saying, but it makes it difficult for the image to change. It leaves no room for reformation.

In contrast, Williams gives the Kaduna correctional facility some flowers.

“Kaduna has prisons where inmates can be properly rehabilitated. They have places where inmates work on the field; farms where they rear cows, although it’s not properly functioning now. Sokoto prisons had big cows in those days. In those days, we used to sell them to outsiders. I was transferred to Sokoto Prisons from Ibadan, and I spent the latter part of my term there before I was released. I remember that we used to do small farming and big farming. It was there I prepared myself for life outside. I later went to UNILAG.”

As far as the clergyman and activist is concerned, inmates need people who can help them improve and become productive. “They need people that can touch their life by talking to them, praying with them and making them see that they are still alive and there is still life after prison. I did a lot. I built a chapel in Agodi Prisons, which I named after my mother – Remilekun Chapel; because she suffered a lot for me.”

Williams also recalled how former President Obasanjo appointed him member of the Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Rehabilitation on account of his hardwork and commitment towards seeing that situations in Nigerian prisons improved.

“I was so committed to making sure we decongested our prisons; I was in some prisons in Britain with Oba Tejuosho; Obasanjo himself even raised funds for us; but all these things, because we didn’t have committed leaders, were not just enough. If only we can devote our time and energy to focus on getting proper rehabilitation, we will probably see the effect. Imagine a prison official giving you responses like: ‘I’m I going to feed the inmates with my fingers’? If all these Scandinavian countries can equip their inmates with different types of training, why can’t we? That is what I am projecting and propagating and that is why all those elderly people I have mentioned have been giving me their full support and cooperation.”

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