The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has said that recent claims making the rounds that inmates across custodial centers in Nigeria are poorly fed are false, misleading, and a gross misrepresentation of the realities within the facilities.

Responding to a media publication that inmates in custody are fed poorly, the Service, through its National Spokesman, Abubakar Umar, said that the publication was a recycled piece aimed at making ruckus where none exists.

He said that “The Service categorically debunks this claim as false, misleading, and a gross misrepresentation of the realities within our facilities.”

The Service further said that it operates under strict guidelines as provided by the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, which mandates the provision of adequate nutrition, healthcare, and general welfare for all inmates.

“Inmates are provided with meals that meet the nutritional requirements recommended by health professionals and monitored routinely by the ration committee set up by the Controller General of Corrections.

“Our menu plans are standardized and reviewed periodically to align with evolving health standards and budgetary provisions,” he said.

Umar pointed out that the “recent approval and increase in the daily feeding allowance for inmates in custodial centers from the previous rate of ₦750 to ₦1,125 per inmate per day is aimed at ensuring that inmates receive adequate and nutritious meals in line with acceptable welfare standards, and it is also a reflection of government’s commitment to the humane treatment of persons in custody and the broader reforms being implemented within the

NCoS to uphold the dignity of human rights and international best practices.”

“The general public is assured that the Service remains committed to upholding the rights and dignity of all inmates in line with international best practices.

“The Service urges members of the public and the media to verify information before dissemination and avoid sensationalism that undermines the hard work of our personnel as well as the integrity of the Service,” he concludes.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has described as heartless and disgusting the NCoS’ claim that media reports on poor feeding of inmates in correctional facilities are false.

National Coordinator of the body, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated that the statement coming from the officials of the Service is a confirmation that the inmates of prisons are malnourished and underfed by the government.

“We at the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria totally disagree with the hierarchy of the Nigeria Correctional Centre for saying that the increased sum of ₦1,250 or so per day as the feeding allowance for each inmate is good.

“This is so heartless and disgusting to hear someone say such a thing at a time that the costs of living crisis has escalated to a level that foodstuffs are way out of the reach of most people due to inflation and the floating of the exchange rate of the country’s currency compared to dollars or other global currencies,” he said.

Onwubiko insisted that the amount mentioned as the daily feeding allowance per inmate per day is so meager and that it “isn’t even enough to feed a dog once in a day.”

According to him, “There is nowhere in the Nigerian market whereby a child of even five years can be fed with less than N10,000 per day, talk more of grown adults locked up in cells of the correctional centers.

“We think that the confirmation of this gross malnourishment of prisoners constitutes a crime against humanity, and these abuses of the fundamental rights of prisoners must be redressed as a matter of urgency.

“Our prisons shouldn’t be converted to labor camps,” he said.