…confirms appointment of Nwakuche Ndidi
The Senate on Tuesday urged the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Nwakuche Ndidi, to put an end to jailbreaks in the country.
President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, issued the directive in Abuja as lawmakers confirmed Ndidi’s appointment, stressing that addressing jailbreaks must be a top priority during his tenure as CG.
Ndidi had been serving as the acting CG of the NCoS since December 15, 2024, after President Bola Tinubu appointed him to replace his predecessor, Mr. Haliru Nababa, upon the expiration of his tenure.
“It is good that this is coming at a time when jailbreaks are occurring.
“I hope the issue of jailbreaks will come to an end with this appointment,” Akpabio stated.
The confirmation followed a report by the Senate Committee on Interior, which cleared Ndidi of any impediment to his appointment.
The committee, chaired by former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, informed the Senate that the appointee possessed the necessary qualifications for the position and had no petitions or security concerns against him.
Ndidi’s confirmation came just a day after 12 inmates escaped from the Federal Correctional Centre in Kotonkarfe, Kogi State.
Reports indicated that the inmates fled the facility through the tower after killing a correctional officer. However, five of them were recaptured immediately.
Nigeria’s overcrowded prisons, plagued by dilapidated infrastructure, have experienced frequent jailbreaks in recent years.
According to figures released by the World Prison Brief (WPB) and corroborated by the official website of the NCoS (www.corrections.gov.ng), Nigeria had a total of 80,183 inmates as of March 2025, despite the custodial centres having an official capacity of 50,153.
Findings by the Nigerian Tribune indicate that 66.6% of the inmates are awaiting trial, with the male population at 77,927 and the female population at 1,855.
For instance, in 2024, about 120 inmates escaped from the Suleja correctional facility in Niger State after heavy rains caused the structure to collapse.
In 2022, suspected terrorists attacked the Kuje prison in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), leading to the escape of approximately 600 inmates.
A year earlier, in April 2021, another 1,800 inmates escaped from a facility in Imo State, followed by a similar incident in July of the same year in Oyo State, where over 800 prisoners broke free.
Jailbreaks have been attributed primarily to five factors: poor infrastructure, inadequate funding and corruption, overcrowding, external attacks, and ill-equipped personnel.
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