The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) has disclosed that awaiting-trial inmates now account for 64 per cent of the country’s total custodial population, underscoring the persistent congestion across correctional facilities nationwide.

The Controller-General of the Service, Sylvester Nwakuche, made this known on Wednesday while defending the agency’s 2025 budget performance and presenting its 2026 estimates before the House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions in Abuja.

According to Nwakuche, as of February 9, 2026, Nigeria’s total inmate population stood at 80,812, comprising 51,955 awaiting-trial inmates, 24,913 convicted inmates and 3,850 others under different detention categories.

He said the figures reflect sustained pressure on custodial centres, many of which were built decades ago and are now operating far beyond their intended capacity.

The Controller-General described the NCoS as a vital arm of the criminal justice system, responsible for custodial and non-custodial services, the safe custody of legally detained persons, and their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. He added that the Service is also mandated to provide adequate feeding for inmates in line with United Nations minimum standards.

On budget performance, Nwakuche said the Service received a total appropriation of ₦184.63bn in 2025 for personnel, overhead and capital expenditure. Of the ₦124.31bn approved for personnel costs, ₦112.68bn—representing 90.6 per cent—was released and fully utilised for salaries, pensions and health insurance.

He disclosed that recurrent overhead releases stood at 73.7 per cent, while ₦27.28bn was spent on inmate feeding nationwide, leaving outstanding food obligations of ₦10.75bn. Operational expenses, including training, logistics, utilities and facility maintenance, gulped ₦6.49bn.

Capital funding recorded the weakest performance, with only ₦3.22bn of the ₦14.50bn appropriated—about 22.2 per cent—released, leaving ₦11.27bn unreleased. Nwakuche stressed that capital funding is critical for infrastructure development, security equipment, ICT systems, inmate biometrics and prison farm operations.

Despite not being a revenue-generating agency, the Service realised ₦84.65m as internally generated revenue in 2025. He also revealed that the NCoS currently has a staff strength of 33,024 personnel deployed across the federation.

For 2026, Nwakuche presented a proposed budget of ₦198.85bn, including ₦138.30bn for personnel costs and ₦50.40bn for recurrent overheads. Of the recurrent allocation, ₦14.83bn is earmarked for feeding an estimated 91,100 inmates at a daily rate of ₦1,125 per inmate.

He appealed for an additional ₦90.38bn to strengthen capital funding and ₦37.99bn to support non-custodial measures across the 774 local government areas. He also sought approval to clear outstanding promotion arrears and contractor debts totalling over ₦55bn.

Earlier, Chairman of the House Committee on Reformatory Institutions, Chinedu Ogah, called for urgent reforms, increased funding and presidential assent to the Correctional Service Trust Fund Bill. He lamented poor infrastructure, noting that many facilities are over a century old and contribute to security and operational challenges.

Ogah urged enhanced support for rehabilitation, education and vocational programmes within correctional centres, stressing that improved funding and decentralised facilities would ease congestion and strengthen national security.