The Nigerian Prisons recently by enactment of Statute changed its nomenclature from the Nigerian Prisons Service to the Nigerian Correctional Service vide the New Nigerian Correctional Service (Establishment) Act,2019. The change of name should also reflect in the change of modus operandi. The new Law provides for lofty ideas that must be explored to decongest Nigerian Prisons.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/idrinstitute.png")
Beyond the rhetorics,if there were no legal or structural framework in place to preclude Prison congestion and do actual correctional service, The difference in the name may just be akin to the distinction between 6 and half a dozen.
The Nigerian Correctional Centres are perhaps the most congested in the World.
The Congestion stems from the autopilot pinutive measures in place in the Criminal Justice System, The Penchant for pushing people to Correctional Facilities (Prisons ) under avoidable
Circumstances,some of which flow from blantant injustice and insincerity and the bucaneer approaches to the Prison decongestion Process by the apposite Authorities.
There are however very easy and cheap ways to decongest Nigerian Correctional Facilities (Prisons ),to wit:
1. Stop the Culture of Nigerian Judicial and Presiding Officers of denying Bail in Bailable Offences or imposing obnoxious and strenuous Bail Conditions. Bail should be granted as a Matter as Course,if so provided by Law and conditions must not to be incongruous with the alleged crime.
To ensure Symmetry in Granting of Bail , guidelines should be issued to Judges and Presiding Officers to stop the abuse of Power.Judges and Magistrates should wait to sign the bond ,if the Bail Condition is met in one day.The Culture of “the Magistrate wants to leave” must stop . Signing of Bail Bond or reproduction warrant is not a favour ,it is duty !
2. Applying Funds meant for Prison Decongestion functionally by paying fines of Convicts,some of which are embarrassingly low . While researching on this treatise ,I had a discussion with a Lawyer and development Enthusiast-Umar Mantu Esq., who shared an experience,which I will like to call the Mantu Prison Decongestion Template , in which an NGO he volunteered for ,used the sum of N250,000:00k (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira ),to release over 200 Prison Inmates who are convicts ,with option of fines ,with the payment of fines as low N2,000:00k (Two Thousand Naira ) to get some inmates home.
Imagine how many inmates can be released with 5,000,000:00K (Five Million Naira ).Government should apply funds for Prison Decongestion discreetly in a utilitarian manner. The giving of Prison decongestion Briefs , running into millions of naira to Lawyers ,when in such cases one inmate is not even released is criminal breach of trust. The Practice should
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