The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has said that a total of 3,688 inmates are currently on death row across various correctional facilities in the country.
The Acting Comptroller-General of the NCoS, Sylvester Nwakuche, disclosed this during his screening before members of the Senate Committee on Interior on Wednesday.
Nwakuche was nominated earlier in the week as substantive comptroller-general by President Bola Tinubu.
The acting CG said the number of inmates on death row increased from 3,590 in September 2024 to 3,688 in March 2025, a situation that shows the challenges of congestion within Nigeria’s prison system.
Nigeria is one of the countries yet to abolish the death penalty despite pressure from groups such as Amnesty International.
However, state governors, who have the final power to approve the killing of death sentence inmates after judicial rulings, are reluctant to do so.
The acting comptroller-general explained that the reluctance of state governors to either execute death row inmates or commute their sentences to life imprisonment is a major reason for prison congestion.
Nwakuche explained that if these sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, the NCoS could redistribute the affected inmates to rural correctional facilities, which are less congested compared to those in urban areas.
To address these issues, Nwakuche noted that he had initiated discussions with key security and legal institutions, including the Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), State Security Services and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
He stressed that without proper collaboration among these agencies, prison congestion would persist.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Adams Oshiomhole, assured Nwakuche that the committee would evaluate his performance and submit a report to the Senate.
