Of this population, 6548 or 71.1 per cent are awaiting trial.
This is contained in the data from the Nigerian Correctional Service covering 2017 to Q2 2025 on the prison population, correctional centres capacity, unsentenced inmates, and admissions, released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Other states with high inmate populations were Ogun, with 4,939, Kano, 4,667, and Enugu, 3,536.
Conversely, Kogi had the lowest inmate population of 530, followed by Bayelsa with 696, and Benue, 777.
Nationally, the report shows that between 2017 and Q2 2025, the Nigerian Correctional Centres’ Capacity increased from 53,752 to 65,035, representing a 20.99 per cent increase over the period.
According to the report, the number of unsentenced inmates rose from 47,610 in 2017 to 53,790 in Q2 2025, showing an increase of 12.98 per cent.
The report shows that the total inmate population rose from 69,946 in 2017 to 81,710 in Q2 2025, indicating a 16.82 per cent increase over the reference period.
However, as at the second quarter of 2025, the report shows that the correctional centers had an overcrowding ratio of 125.6 per cent while those awaiting trial made up 65.8 per cent of the total prison population.
“At the end of 2024,” according to the report, “Nigeria’s correctional facilities had a total of 176,536 inmate admissions across various offences. “Remand/awaiting trial cases recorded the highest admissions with 94,614 inmates, while condemned cases had the lowest with 2,883 inmates.”
It said in terms of type of offences, stealing recorded the highest number of admissions at 55,722, followed by other offences, 46,043 and Armed Robbery with 10,090, while bribery and corruption recorded the least with 27, followed by cyber crime, 48, and smuggling, 118.
Nigeria is struggling with a criminal justice system that is not only weak, but is also slow resulting in a large number of awaiting trial inmates in the various correctional centres across the country.
Reports show that over 70 per cent of the inmates in Lagos correctional centres are awaiting trial, not convicted of any crime. Some of the inmates are said to have been in custody for over 10 to 15 years without the conclusion of their trials.
This systemic failure is blamed on a combination of weak implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), overworked judiciary, slow investigation, and the reliance on “holding charges” by the police.