An independent Federal Government panel has uncovered widespread malnutrition in Nigeria’s correctional centres, alongside alleged abuses in prison feeding contracts and systemic gaps in welfare management, recommending a sharp increase in inmates’ daily feeding allowance.
The panel proposed raising the current N750 per inmate per day to N3,000, describing the adjustment as urgent to address worsening nutritional conditions across custodial facilities.
The findings are contained in the final report of the Independent Investigative Panel on Allegations of Corruption and Other Violations Against the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), submitted to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
The report shows that malnutrition was documented during field inspections conducted between late 2024 and mid-2025, when the panel visited 86 custodial centres nationwide. The findings were later consolidated in a final report completed in March 2026.
The panel, inaugurated on Monday, September 30, 2024, was mandated to investigate corruption, abuse of office and human rights violations within the correctional system.
It found severe deficiencies in inmate feeding, citing poor funding, alleged diversion of resources and weak oversight of food supply chains.
Conditions were described as particularly dire in Owerri Correctional Centre, Imo State, where inmates reportedly received extremely small food portions.
In Akwa Ibom, the panel raised concerns over acute malnutrition and reported inmate deaths linked to poor rations.
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The report also flagged irregularities in feeding contracts, noting that many were awarded to firms far from the facilities they served, enabling subcontracting that reduced accountability and food quality.
It said allocations of N750 per inmate were reportedly subcontracted at about N460, while the later N1,250 rate was passed down at roughly N600.
The panel linked some contracting firms to politically exposed persons, serving and retired correctional officers and associates of senior officials, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.
It also reported pressure and intimidation against officers who resisted questionable deals.
Beyond feeding, it warned that financial incentives tied to inmate populations may be undermining decongestion efforts and non-custodial sentencing.
To address the crisis, the panel recommended an immediate increase of feeding allocations to N3,000 per inmate per day, alongside reforms to expand prison agriculture, mechanise farm centres and cut reliance on external vendors.
It also called for tighter procurement controls and removal of incentives linked to inmate numbers.
The panel said implementation would improve welfare, strengthen accountability and reposition the correctional system toward rehabilitation.