Human Rights Activist and Lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has exposed the deplorable conditions in Nigerian prisons after his one-month incarceration at Uyo Nigerian Correctional Centre.
His revelations come amidst a bribery scandal involving Nigerian cross-dresser, Bobrisky in which Bobrisky is being investigated for bribing prison officials to access a private space while he served a six-month jail term for currency mutilation.
Mr. Effiong was part of an Arise TV panel of discussants on its Saturday morning program “The Perspectives“.
“The correctional service in Nigeria is completely flooded and requires fundamental reforms,” Effiong stated. He shared his personal experience, where he paid N50,000 for a “special cell” that offered no better conditions than the general cells. “In prison, everything is paid for. You pay for light, food, water, and even space to sleep,” he revealed.
Effiong described the food as “a write-off” and the healthcare as inadequate, citing instances of prisoner deaths from treatable conditions. Overcrowding is also rampant, with prisoners struggling to find space to sleep. “It’s so congested, it’s diabolical,” he emphasized.
Many prisoners are held without trial, with some awaiting trial for up to five years. Prison records are often incomplete or lost, making it difficult to complete the prosecution of several inmates. Effiong claims he facilitated the release of 17 inmates during his stay, highlighting the need for intervention.
“The system has completely collapsed. It’s based on a mindset of slavery and subversion,” Effiong asserted. “When people go there, they come back more emboldened to commit crimes because there’s nothing reformative about that system.”
Effiong’s shocking narration underscores the need for urgent reform in Nigeria’s correctional service to prioritize prisoners’ basic human rights and dignity.
It also reveals the failures of the justice system which has left inmates in prolonged pre-trial detention. As Effiong emphasized, “The minister and national assembly should stop hypocritical investigations and focus on real reforms.”
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