Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, revealed that a significant number of individuals are currently incarcerated for minor infractions that do not justify prison time. He shared this information during a regional conference in Abuja, co-hosted by the UNODC and the African Correctional Services Association.
The minister explained that the state spends significantly more on housing and feeding these inmates than the value of the original fines or restitution they owe. Upon taking office, Tunji-Ojo instructed officials to identify prisoners held for debts under N500,000. The audit uncovered over 4,000 such detainees. Following a government review, these individuals were released, effectively cutting the national correctional population by five percent in one day.
Tunji-Ojo highlighted that 93 percent of Nigerian inmates are state offenders, with federal cases accounting for only seven percent. He argued that widespread overcrowding in African prisons is largely driven by the habitual imprisonment of people for non-custodial offenses. He estimated that between 30 and 50 percent of the current inmate population could be serving alternative sentences instead of jail time.
