By Titilope Adako

The number of prisoners on death row in Nigeria has increased from 3,590 in September 2024 to 3,688 in March 2025, marking a rise of 98 inmates within six months.

The Acting Controller-General of Prisons, Sylvester Nwakuche, disclosed this on Wednesday during his screening by the Senate Committee on Interior, chaired by Senator Adams Oshiomhole.

Nwakuche, who was accompanied by senior prison officials, highlighted congestion in urban prisons as a major challenge.

He attributed this partly to state governors’ reluctance to either execute death row inmates or commute their sentences to life imprisonment.

He stated, “State governors are part of our challenges. They refuse to execute inmates on death row, neither do they commute their death sentence to life imprisonment.”

According to him, converting death sentences to life imprisonment would allow for the redistribution of inmates to less crowded rural prisons.

He described urban congestion as a significant issue and noted that rural prisons have more space.

The acting CG also pointed out that a large percentage of inmates are awaiting trial, which he described as the prison service’s “major headache.”

To address this, he promised closer collaboration with security agencies, including the Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS), and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), to expedite justice and reduce prison congestion.

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