Awaiting trial inmates account for 64 per cent of the total custodial population across Nigeria, the Nigeria Correctional Service has said, highlighting persistent congestion in correctional facilities nationwide.

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

Nwakuche said that as of February 9, 2026, the total inmate population stood at 80,812. Of this number, 51,955 are awaiting trial inmates, 24,913 are convicted inmates, while 3,850 fall under other detention categories.

He noted that many custodial centres were built decades ago and now operate far beyond their designed capacity.

Describing the Service as a critical component of the criminal justice system, Nwakuche said it is responsible for custodial and non-custodial services, safe custody of legally detained persons, and their rehabilitation and reintegration. He added that inmates are fed in line with the United Nations Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Offenders.

On the 2025 budget performance, he said the Service received a total appropriation of ₦184.63bn covering personnel, overhead, and capital expenditure.

Out of the ₦124.31bn approved for personnel costs, ₦112.68bn, representing 90.6 per cent, was released and fully utilised for salaries, pensions,s and health insurance contributions under the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

Recurrent overhead releases stood at 73.7 per cent, with the last tranche for October 2025 released in December. From the funds received, ₦27.28bn, representing 71.7 per cent, was spent on inmate feeding nationwide, while ₦10.75bn remained as outstanding obligations for food rations.

Additionally, ₦6.49bn was expended on operational costs, including staff training, fuelling of operational vehicles for court duties, electricity, security service,s and facility maintenance.

Capital funding recorded the lowest level of implementation. Of the ₦14.50bn appropriated for capital projects, only ₦3.22bn, representing 22.2 per cent, was released and utilised, leaving ₦11.27bn unreleased.

Nwakuche stressed that capital expenditure is crucial for the construction and rehabilitation of custodial centres, procurement of operational vehicles, arms and security equipment, ICT systems, inmate biometric capture and agricultural inputs for prison farm centres.

Despite not being a revenue-generating agency, the Service realised ₦84.65m as internally generated revenue in 2025.

He said the Service currently has a staff strength of 33,024, comprising uniformed personnel, medical professionals, and civilian employees deployed across the national headquarters, zonal formations, state commands, and custodial facilities.

For the 2026 fiscal year, Nwakuche presented a proposed budget of ₦198.85bn and appealed for additional funding to address pressing operational and infrastructure needs.

He said ₦138.30bn was proposed for personnel costs to cater for a projected staff strength of 37,541 operating under four salary structures.

A total of ₦50.40bn was proposed for recurrent overhead expenditure, including inmate feeding and general operations. Of this amount, ₦14.83bn is earmarked for feeding an estimated inmate population of 91,100 at a daily rate of ₦1,125 per inmate.

The Controller-General also appealed for the approval of an additional ₦90.38bn to boost capital funding, which would raise total capital allocation to about ₦100.50bn to tackle infrastructure deficits and expand capacity across correctional facilities.

He further sought ₦37.99bn to support the implementation of non-custodial measures across the 774 local government areas and requested legislative approval to clear outstanding liabilities, including ₦30.38bn in promotion arrears from 2019 to 2024 and ₦25.16bn owed to local contractors for services rendered between 2023 and 2025.

Earlier, the Chairman of the House Committee on Reformatory Institutions, Chinedu Ogah, called for urgent reforms in the correctional system, including increased funding, improved infrastructure, and presidential assent to the Correctional Service Trust Fund Bill.

Ogah said many correctional facilities were built over a century ago and have deteriorated significantly, contributing to recurring security breaches and operational strain. He urged President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Trust Fund Bill passed by the National Assembly, noting that it would empower states to establish correctional facilities and ease pressure on federal centres.

He also highlighted ongoing efforts to expand access to education in custodial centres, revealing that about 10 study centres of the National Open University of Nigeria have been established in correctional facilities nationwide, with programmes offered free to inmates.

Ogah said the committee would scrutinise the Service’s 2025 performance before concluding deliberations on the 2026 budget estimates.