No fewer than 4,204 persons were sent to the custodial facilities of the Nigerian Correctional Service nationwide in the last four months.
This was according to data from the website of the NCoS on Sunday.
The website showed an increase of 4,204 in the number of inmates between April and July.
On April 17, 2023, the number of inmates in the nation’s 244 custodial centres was 74,872.
A security expert, Chidi Omeje, said the spike in the number of inmates suggested an increase in the crime rate in the country, noting that it could be linked to the rising poverty in the land.
The Coordinator, Social Justice and Prison Welfare, Ogonna Okeke, decried the huge population of inmates, saying it is to be blamed on the slow justice administration in the country.
She advocated the use of non-custodial sentencing for minor offences.
“People do not need to be incarcerated for petty crimes. Community services, parole, probation and others should also be adopted,” Okeke said.
