NCoS Pushes for Voting Rights for Over 53,000 Prisoners

The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) says over 53,460 inmates across the country are still waiting for trial.

The Comptroller General, Sylvester Nwakuche, disclosed this during a visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

He told INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, that Nigeria’s total prison population is now about 81,000. “Inmates should not be denied the right to vote. It is their fundamental democratic right,” he said.

Nwakuche urged INEC to activate provisions in the law that allow eligible inmates to register and vote during elections.

Court Ruling Supports Inmates’ Rights

Yakubu responded that INEC remains committed to upholding inmates’ rights to vote. He recalled a 2019 Court of Appeal ruling in Benin which affirmed that prisoners have a constitutional right to vote.

“We are working with the NCoS to create a framework for inmate voting,” Yakubu said. He noted the plan covers logistics, access to correctional facilities, political party concerns, and identifying which inmates qualify to vote under the law.

Yakubu added that while the court upheld inmates’ voting rights, it declined to order voter registration centres inside prisons. That means full implementation will need the National Assembly’s backing and further administrative work.

INEC Calls for Legislative Support

The INEC chairman stressed that the National Assembly must step in to address legal and procedural gaps before the process can be fully rolled out.

He assured that despite the challenges, the commission is determined to make inmate voting a reality in line with the law.

The 2019 ruling followed an appeal filed by five inmates on behalf of others, but practical steps to enforce the judgment remain pending.

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