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8,246 mentally ill inmates in custody nationwide – NCoS

Published

2 months ago

August 12, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Correctional Service(NCoS) says no fewer than 8,246 inmates are currently suffering from mental illness across the custodial centres nationwide.

The Assistant Controller General of Corrections (ACG), in charge of Medical Services, Dr Glory Essien, disclosed the figure during a public hearing on Tuesday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption, Abuse of Power, Torture, and Other Inhumane Treatment by the NCoS began the third public hearing on Monday.

Essien, however, highlighted the harsh reality of incarceration and its impact on mental health during her address to the panel.

“We have 8,246 inmates with mental health conditions in our custodial centres.

“From the moment someone is brought in, those who have seen a custodial centre know what I mean.

“The police escort them to the gate, and it’s opened, they’re admitted, and then that gate is locked behind them.

“That instant loss of freedom can trigger something. Some begin to show signs of disturbed behaviour almost immediately, as if something in their mind has shifted,”she said.

Essien explained that the prison system relied on an internal network of trained inmate-leaders who assisted staff in identifying those showing signs of psychological distress.

According to her, these leaders are trained to alert the staff when they notice concerning behaviour.

“They might say, ‘This inmate seems dazed, hasn’t eaten, hasn’t spoken to anyone.’ That helps us intervene early,” she said.

Essien said in spite of these efforts, the scale of mental health issues far exceeded the available resources.

She said: “If you’re in a facility housing 500 to 1,000 inmates, and you’re the only attending doctor, nurse, or psychologist, it’s simply not possible to monitor everyone individually.

“That’s why we rely on these trained inmates to help us identify those in need, so we can provide care as best we can,” she said.

She, however, underscored the logistical challenges of delivering mental healthcare in correctional facilities.

“Mental illness is chronic. It’s not like malaria, where a single dose clears up the issue, highlighting transportation issues, limited drug supplies, and staff shortages as ongoing obstacles.

“We’re not operating in a five-star environment.But with the little we have, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of our work,” she maintained.

Similarly, the Assistant Controller General of Corrections in charge of pharmaceutical services, Mohammed Bashir, addressed concerns around drug provision and mental health treatment.

He said that the Federal Government had actually been doing its utmost to ensure that it catered to the health needs of the inmates.

“Money has been appropriated, but is the money enough? No.

“Out of 81,122 inmates in 256 correctional facilities nationwide, about 2.3 per cent are female,” he said.

Bashir revealed that a single item, such as sanitary pads for menstruating inmates, costs over “four million naira monthly.

On mental healthcare, Bashir confirmed that a psychological services unit had been created within the service to focus on treatment.

“We have partnership with this psychiatric and psychological association. We have the consultants who usually go to about 12 designated custodial centres that have a large number of these cases,” he said.

He, however, admitted that drug supplies often ran out within weeks due to inadequate funding and staffing.

In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary(PS) in the Ministry of Interior, Dr Magdalene Ajani, called for urgent support and systemic changes.

Ajani made a passionate appeal to the Nigerian Medical Association and pharmaceutical companies for support.

“Please come to Macedonia and help us. We are in dire need of psychiatric and psychological aid in remote states beyond Abuja and Lagos.”

Ajani, who chairs the panel, expressed concern over the maldistribution of mental health professionals.

“Let them not only be centered in Abuja and Lagos. We need them to go out to the fields. Because if we even put two in the states, it will help them,” she added.

The PS emphasized the importance of transparency and collaboration with private companies, noting that public-private partnerships would be beneficial.

According to her, we can approach companies that can give us drugs as CSR; they do it.

“So, don’t let us sit in the office and forget our primary responsibility.

“Do it now. Build a bridge and empower younger people to be able to sustain that bridge that you are building,” she emphasised.

Related Topics:Correctional services Inmates

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NAFDAC Gives Nigerian Food Companies 18 Months To Cut Trans Fats

Published

48 minutes ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has set an 18-month grace period, effectively giving food companies until early 2026 before facing full enforcement of regulations to eliminate industrially produced Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA).

The initiative, launched as a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for TFA regulation, moves Nigeria from simply having the policy to enforcing its world-class standard: a regulatory limit of no more than two grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat or oil.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasised that the roadmap moves the country beyond policy creation to aggressive enforcement and implementation.

This was contained in the NAFDAC DG’s keynote speech posted on the agency’s official X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

Adeyeye stressed the moral imperative of the Agency’s mission.

“The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.

“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is possible, achievable, necessary, and urgent,” Adeyeye stated, calling for national collaboration.

The moratorium period is designed to allow manufacturers to exhaust existing stock with outdated labels and reformulate their products to comply with the legal limit.

NAFDAC’s action targets a dangerous dietary risk factor strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and premature death globally.

Adeyeye emphasised the significance of the move beyond technical compliance, noting, “The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.”

This aggressive step builds upon Nigeria’s existing reputation; the country was recognised by the World Health Organisation in 2023 for adopting best-practice TFA elimination policies.

The new roadmap is key to securing WHO validation of Nigeria’s full TFA elimination programme, establishing the nation as a regional leader in public health interventions.

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Mohbad’s Father Urges Lagos AG To Prosecute Wife, Nurse, Others

Published

1 hour ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Joseph Aloba, the father of late singer Mohbad, has urged the Lagos State government to initiate criminal proceedings against individuals named in the coroner’s inquest into his son’s death.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, following an injection administered by auxiliary nurse Feyisayo Ogedengbe.

Despite being buried the next day, public outcry and ongoing investigations led to the exhumation of his body on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy.

In a letter dated October 3 and addressed to the attorney general of Lagos State through his lawyers, Aloba demanded that criminal charges be filed against those indicted within 14 days.

“Specifically, we refer to persons indicted by the coroner’s verdict hereunder: Miss Ogedengbe Fisayo, indicted for unlawful medical practice and gross medical negligence; and Mrs. Omowunmi Aloba, indicted for negligence,” the letter reads.

“This includes Ibrahim Owodunni, a.k.a. Prime Boy, and others who either facilitated the invitation of the auxiliary nurse or refused to take him promptly to a recognised medical facility for treatment.”

Mohbad’s father said he was concerned that despite the coroner’s clear verdict, no prosecutorial steps had been taken against those indicted nearly three months after the judgment.

He asked the attorney general to exercise prosecutorial powers within the 14 days, or, in the alternative, grant him and his legal team a fiat to prosecute the matter on behalf of the state.

“Our Client, as a bereaved father desirous of ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done, is deeply concerned that notwithstanding the clear indictments contained in the Coroner’s Verdict, no prosecutorial steps have been taken against the aforementioned persons since the delivery of the Verdict on 11th July, 2025,” the letter reads.

“The judicial observations amount to clear indictments warranting the prosecution of the said individuals in order to give full effect to the Coroner’s findings and recommendations, and to ensure that justice is manifestly and adequately served in this matter.

“We request that you exercise your prosecutorial power on the above subject matter within 14 Days Next, in view of the high sensitivity of this matter and the public attention and outrage it has generated.”

In October 2023, Naira Marley and Sam Larry were arrested over allegations linking them to Mohbad’s death, but were released on bail after five weeks in detention.

By February 2025, a magistrate court cleared them of any involvement in the singer’s demise.

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Boko Haram Once Nominated Muhammadu Buhari As Negotiator – Jonathan Revealed

Published

6 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator.

Jonathan said Boko Haram chose Buhari to negotiate with the Nigerian government on their behalf.

He made the disclosure while speaking at the public presentation of Scars, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.

Jonathan said the insurgents named Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.

Jonathan said: “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.

“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and had a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.”

Jonathan noted that the inability of Buhari to eradicate Boko Haram terrorists showed that the crisis was more complex than often portrayed.