“Lagos state has the highest number of prison inmates. The state recorded 7,396 prison inmates population as against a prison capacity of 3,927, closely followed by Rivers and Kano states with 4,424 and 4,183 prison inmates population,” the report read.
“Conversely. Ekiti and Bayelsa states had the least prison inmates population of 444 and 585 as against prison capacity of 200 and 400 respectively.”
In 2015, 63,668 of the prison inmates were males against 1,365 females.
In 2016, 67,329 of the prison inmates were males as against 1,357 females, signalling a reduction in the number of female inmates in the prisons.
Earlier in the month when he met with judges, President Muhammadu Buhari lamented over the congestion of prisons.
“We need a new approach to prisons decongestion. It is a national scandal that many prisons are overcrowded by up to 90 percent. Urgent new measures should be put in place to speedily decongest prisons not only in the interest of justice but to save cost for prisons maintenance and enhance the welfare of prisoners,” he had said.
