FG Spends N4.3m Daily To Feed 3,823 Inmates On Death Row

Nigerian governors are not willing to sign off on the execution of condemned criminals, even as findings by LEADERSHIP Weekend revealed that the federal government spends N4.3m daily to feed 3823 inmates on death row.

Consequently, the number of inmates on Nigeria’s death row has surged to 3,823 as of June 2025.
Experts say these inmates remain trapped in a legal limbo: sentenced to death but not executed, left alive, yet forgotten by the justice system.

LEADERSHIP Weekend writes that while final justice is stalled, these individuals linger in overcrowded prisons, draining the system’s limited resources and raising deep ethical and humanitarian concerns.

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) confirmed that of the 3,823 inmates on death row, 3,742 are male and 81 are female, a sharp rise from 3,688 in March 2025 and 3,590 in September 2024.
It is no longer news that despite the constitutional power of state governors to authorise executions or commute sentences, such decisions are rarely made, resulting in an overburdened correctional system and a mounting fiscal load.

According to data obtained by LEADERSHIP Weekend from a top official at the Ministry of Interior, Nigeria’s total inmate population, including the 78,446 who have largely faded from public awareness, costs the federal government about ₦58.8 million to feed them daily.

Until recently, each inmate was allocated ₦750 daily for food, a figure deemed grossly inadequate. However, following widespread protests and appeals, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu raised it to ₦1,125 in August 2024 for awaiting-trial inmates.

Critical stakeholders and some retired senior prison officers who craved anonymity told LEADERSHIP Weekend that even with the upward review, ₦1,125 still falls short of the ₦1,346 benchmark required for a healthy daily diet, leaving a ₦221 nutritional deficit per inmate – a gap prison experts warn could have serious consequences.

“Poor feeding can trigger violence,” a senior official at a correctional facility told our correspondent via telephone conversation.

“It’s not just a welfare issue; it’s a national security concern,” he said, adding that nutrition and inmate behaviour are closely linked.

An exclusive document obtained by LEADERSHIP Weekend shows that the fiscal implications are staggering.

Between January and February 2025, the NCoS spent ₦3.3 billion to feed approximately 50,000 awaiting-trial inmates in just two months. With 50,000 inmates fed at ₦1,125 daily, the estimated cost would hit ₦20.6 billion for the entire year.

In total, the NCoS budgeted ₦38 billion for foodstuffs in 2025 alone, with death row inmates included in that allocation, though their costs are not itemised separately.

An expert and a former food supply contractor to the Kuje custodial facility, who pleaded not to be named, said, “Despite this spending, prison nutrition remains insufficient. The daily allowance does not cover a balanced diet. The government must see inmate feeding as part of national security planning.”
Speaking on governors’ refusal to sign death warrants, a situation which continues to fuel the crisis. human rights activist Esor Ekpe argues that this discretion, whether to sign or commute, is wielded inconsistently, trapping inmates in perpetual legal limbo.

“Their silence is shaping the lives of thousands,” he said.

Former senior prisons officer and security expert, Mr. Idem Ekpo, reflected on Nigeria’s execution history.

“Since the democratic era began in 1999, executions have been extremely rare. The last major wave was under General Sani Abacha, including the notorious 1995 hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa’s ‘Ogoni Nine.’ Only a handful occurred in 2013 and 2016. Without action, death row continues to grow unchecked.”
Ekpo stressed that executions are constitutionally tied to governors’ signatures.

“They hold the key, but many choose not to use it. The result is a bloated, overburdened, and increasingly unsustainable system.”

However, the Nigerian Correctional Service has argued that the feeding allocation, while tight, remains in line with international norms and domestic regulations.

The national spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service ( NCoS), Deputy Controller of Corrections Umar Abubakar, told LEADERSHIP Weekend that the cost of feeding inmates in Nigeria was not excessively high given the current economic situation.

He further explained that the Service operates under a budget approved by the federal government, saying that the allocation per inmate is modest enough to ensure that inmates receive the minimum required nutrition as stipulated by international standards and domestic regulations.

“It is important for the public to understand that food is a basic provision for individuals in custody, many of whom are awaiting trial and constitutionally presumed innocent.

“The current ₦1,125 feeding rate is a result of recent reviews, and another review is already under consideration,” he said.

Umar added that the Service ensures minimum nutritional standards are met in accordance with global and domestic regulations.

“These are basic provisions for people in custody, many of whom are still awaiting trial and presumed innocent under the law. Moreover, the service is actively seeking ways to promote agricultural initiatives within custodial centres and farm centres. Through inmate-run farms and vocational programmes, we are producing food items to ensure food security within the facilities, and empowering inmates with valuable skills for reintegration.

“These efforts demonstrate the service’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, rehabilitation, and the humane treatment of all persons in custody, in line with national and international correctional best practices,” he explained.

He further confirmed that the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) currently spends ₦1,125 per inmate per day on feeding, following a 50 per cent increase from the initial ₦750 implemented in August 2024 by a presidential directive.

Meanwhile, the federal government’s approach to correctional reform appears to be shifting. The Minister of Interior previously emphasised that “correctional centres are now places of hope and transformation,” pointing to interventions such as increased allowances, skill-building efforts, and the introduction of digital libraries.

Nonetheless, experts warn that unless decisive action is taken, including clearing the death row backlog and adequately funding nutrition, prisons may become flashpoints for unrest.
“The daily ₦1,125 may meet the books, but it doesn’t meet the body’s needs. The gap between policy and practice remains wide, and for thousands on death row, justice, whether by mercy or execution, seems agonisingly out of reach.”

Death row delay due to appellate litigation

A Bauchi-based legal practitioner, Barr. Sufiyanu Gambo Idris has revealed that the failure to implement death penalty judgements in Nigeria is due mainly to prolonged appeal processes and state governors’ lack of political will.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP Weekend on the issue, Idris noted that most capital punishment sentences are handed down by lower courts such as High Courts and Upper Shariah Courts.

He stressed that convicts in such cases have the legal right to appeal the rulings to the Supreme Court, a process that often leads to years of delay.

“Until the final appellate court affirms the conviction, execution cannot be carried out,” he said.
Idris said that beyond the legal bottlenecks, the reluctance of state governors to sign off on death warrants forms another significant hurdle.

“Even when all legal avenues have been exhausted, governors, who are constitutionally required to authorise executions, often lack the political will to do so,” he added.

No Akwa Ibom governor has signed a death warrant since 1999

Since the inception of the current civilian dispensation, no democratically elected governor since 1999 has signed any death warrant for the execution of condemned prisoners in Akwa Ibom state.

A senior official of the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) disclosed this to LEADERSHIP Weekend, who would not want his name in print.

According to him, across the four prisons in Uyo, Eket, Ikot Ekpene and Ikot Abasi, “we have a number of inmates on death row, but we can’t ascertain the current number now due to the fact that some of the prisoners wrongly given death sentences were recently freed after their cases were reviewed at the Appeal Court to discover they were convicted in error.”

“Like on Thursday, October 10, 2025, one man from Ibesikpo Asutan local government area was sentenced to death for killing his brother over an allegation of using witchcraft powers to block his progress in the Uyo High Court.

“For instance, two indigenes of Mkpat Enin LGA, whom the Judge wrongly sentenced to death after one wicked man from their village framed them up for alleged involvement in phantom kidnapping, were freed after 12 years awaiting execution.

‘God intervened. They were freed a few weeks ago after spending over 12 years in prison awaiting execution following the pursuance of the case by a good Samaritan to the Appeal Court because the suspects didn’t have the resources to appeal the case.

Additional report by GODWIN ENNA, Katsina, Muhd Zangina Kura, Dutse, Nnamdi Mbawike, Enugu, Okem Green Mbah, Yenagoa, ACHOR ABIMAJE,Jos, IDRIS SALISU, Gusau, , IDRIS SALISU, Gusau, Francis Okoye, Maiduguri, Alo Abiola, Ado-Ekiti, Longtong Yakubu, Kano, Felix Igbekoyi, Asaba, EMMANUEL MGBEAHURIKE, Owerri, Anayo Onukwugha, Port Harcourt, Angela Nkwo-Akpolu, Owerri, KALU EZIYI, Umuahia, KABIR WURMA, Birnin Kebbi, OBINNA OGBONNAYA, Abakaliki Abdullahi Olesin, Ilorin, ABU NMODU, Minna,

“So, that is why an accurate figure of convicts awaiting execution in Akwa Ibom can’t be established, because even some are randomly transferred, sometimes outside the state,” he disclosed.

However, a source close to the governor said, “Some governors are bound by their conscience, and would rather prefer the condemned criminals remain in perpetuity in prison rather than their hands be tainted by human blood.”

Govs restricted by international conventions

Besides, he noted that governors are bound by international human rights laws and conventions Nigeria signed with respective affiliate bodies to the United Nations, adding that “open execution of such criminals could attract outrage and petitions concerning human rights abuse by the government.”

“Our governor is a pastor, and a devout Christian, who owns and administers his own Church, so I believe bound by his faith as a Christian, he would not want to sign any death warrant for anyone to be killed because they had never been such a precedent in this state under any civilian dispensation from the era of Obong Victor Attah; Chief Godswill Akpabio; Mr. Udom Emmanuel and now Pastor Umo Eno,” he said.

But Clifford Thomas, chairman of Akwa Ibom Human Rights Community (AIHRC) explained that the execution of condemned criminals, though constitutionally provided, could amount to injustice if, after years, it becomes open knowledge that the executed person was not guilty, as has been happening in Nigeria and other advanced countries.”

Abia gov not keen on executing inmates

‎According to a senior Abia State Governor Alex Otti administration, every action must have its reaction, but sometimes “a little thought in retrospect is vital”.
‎
‎’”Recall that last week, the governor, in his magnanimity, secured the release of three persons who had been on the death row for 26 years in Lagos. The message in this is that he wants the authorities to think twice about the execution of condemned persons.”
‎
‎LEADERSHIP Weekend was denied information on the number of inmates on death row at the Abia State command headquarters of the NCS on security grounds.
‎
‎A reliable source, who pleaded anonymity, noted that because of its sensitivity, such information is usually requested and supplied only on the directive of the controllers.

‎But Stan Elekwa, a human rights activist, suggested commuting such convictions to long-term imprisonment, “as has become the case in some societies now.”

Kaduna Lawyer Explains Why Condemned Criminals Are Not Executed

A Kaduna-based legal practitioner, Hiifan Abuul, told LEADERSHIP Weekend in Kaduna, that “the penal laws under which offences are defined also prescribe the penalty to the same.

“The death penalty within our criminal laws is a penalty for capital offences such as murder/culpable homicide” though sentencing is always at the discretion of the trial judge. In some cases, they may consider life imprisonment as an alternative sentence,” Abuul added.

Human Rights Obstacles Hindering Execution of Inmates – Gov Otu’s Aide

In Cross River State, the Secretary of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee in Cross River State, Barr. James Ibor has identified constitutional obstacles as being responsible for the execution of prison inmates on the death row in Cross River State.

Ibor stated that, many years ago, the Cross River State Government subscribed to Amnesty International’s Policy of discouraging the execution of death row inmates, stressing that alone prevents the state government from executing prisoners on death row.

“Thankfully, all the governors of Cross River State subscribed to that policy. Again, with the state of our scientific development, the government gives room for error. What happens when somebody who had been condemned based on facts that turn out to be incorrect?” he asked.

Ibor stated that to allow individuals who are on death row to serve life sentences was preferable because, sometimes, new facts that exonerate the inmates can emerge, stressing that it’s easier to compensate such inmates than when they had been executed.

“Research has shown consistently that the death penalty is not a deterrent. Once you execute a convict, just because a convict had been sentenced to death, it is difficult to reverse the execution when new facts emerge that exonerate the person from the crime.”

Efforts to get the attorney general and commissioner for justice in Cross River to speak on the issue failed. Text messages and calls sent to him were never replied to, and he did not call our report back.

Governors fear executing innocent persons

The special adviser to the Cross River State Governor, Barr. Ekpeyong Akiba stated that the risk of executing innocent persons remained one of the strongest arguments why the governments had been unable to carry out execution judgements.

He stressed that in addition to its affiliation with civil societies and several international organisations, the government also respects the dignity and sanctity of human life.

Shortage of hangmen

He further stated that the dearth of hangmen was also a factor militating against the execution of prison inmates in the death row in the state.

“When criminals are sentenced to death, the government sometimes finds it difficult because it lacks hangmen who ensure that those condemned by the law go through the process. Even in Nigeria, I do not know if we have hangmen.

“It’s difficult to hire a hangman outside the country. The executors, whom we call hangmen, are difficult to come by,” he stated.

A visit to the Nigeria Correctional Service’s headquarters in Calabar, Cross River State, on Wednesday did not yield any results.

The State Controller of the Service, Mr. Richard Moses Williams, would not disclose the exact number of inmates on death row.

No executions in Katsina

An investigation has revealed that Katsina State is no longer carrying out executions for death row inmates, despite having individuals convicted of capital offences.

Officials say the executions are stalled due to a combination of factors: pending legal appeals, the governor’s refusal to sign death warrants, and growing pressure from human rights advocates.

“The law allows the governor to authorise executions, but that hasn’t happened in recent years,” a senior correctional officer confirmed. “Most governors are cautious because of both local and international concerns over the death penalty.”

While the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) in Katsina has not released the exact number of condemned inmates in 2025, sources confirm that the population on death row is rising. Many have been awaiting execution for over 10 years.

The cost burden is also mounting. With a daily feeding cost of ₦750 per inmate and thousands of prisoners across the state, the annual food budget runs into hundreds of millions of naira, a significant portion of which goes to long-term inmates or condemned inmates.

Katsina’s 2025 budget allocated funds for prison support, but figures specific to death row were not disclosed.

Chairman of Civil Society Groups in Katsina, Abdurahaman Abdullahi, admitted that executions are rarely tracked or publicly known.

“Some do happen, but they’re not reported. If cases don’t attract attention, they’re forgotten,” he said.

50 Inmates on Death Row In Jigawa

According to the Jigawa State attorney general and commissioner for justice, Hon Bello Abdulkadir Fanini, the last report obtained from the Correctional Service showed that the total number of inmates on death row in the state was 50.

He noted that 38 were convicted by a state higher court while 12 were transferred from other jurisdictions.

Hon Fanini identified three major factors that delay execution: the legal process, in which some cases are pending on appeal, while some were commuted to life imprisonment.

“Sometimes, as legal advisors, we advise the governor to grant them a total pardon after spending years in life imprisonment and exhibiting good conduct in the Correctional Service home,” said the commissioner.

Release Death Row Inmates After 20 Years

The President of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, Barrister Olu Omatayo advocated the release of prisoners on death row who have spent up to 20 years or above.

He stated that those who had spent 20 years or more on death row must have learnt their lessons and will be helpful to society and themselves.

“There has been advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty because a lot of countries have abolished it. Prisoners on death row who have spent 20 years or more should be freed, while those who have spent 10 years or more should be commuted to life imprisonment,” he stated.

A source at the Enugu Correctional Centre told our correspondent that the official cost of feeding each inmate daily was N1,125, an increase from N750 in January 2025.

In Enugu, there has been no report of the signing of a death warrant for a long time. Still, in exercise of his prerogative of mercy, Governor Peter Mbah recently freed some inmates and pardoned another on parole.

The gesture was aimed at exercising his prerogative of mercy to decongest the state’s correctional centre.

Feeding allocation for inmates grossly inadequate — Bayelsa Comptroller

The Comptroller of the Nigeria Correctional Service in Bayelsa State, Imo Ikahokhuele, has said the current feeding allowance of N1,125 per inmate per day is insufficient.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP Weekend about challenges and costs of running correctional facilities, he explained that the federal government previously allocated N750 per inmate daily but recently increased it to N1,125. While the increase is a step forward, it remains far below what is necessary to provide proper meals, especially amid rising food prices and inflation.

He said, “You cannot isolate the total budget for inmates’ care. Maintenance of infrastructure, healthcare, clothing, water supply, and generator servicing all fall under budgetary allocation. For feeding alone, the current N1,125 per inmate is grossly inadequate. The federal government raised it from N750 to N1,125, but with the economic situation, that amount still falls short.”

He revealed that Bayelsa currently holds about 691 inmates, down slightly from around 700 the previous week. Caring for them requires significant resources, including funding for food, water, healthcare, and electricity.

“In case of disease outbreaks, such as chickenpox, immediate intervention is necessary to protect inmates’ rights to life,” Ikahokhuele added.

Refusal to sign death warrants, a betrayal of justice

The Bayelsa State chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Comrade David West, criticised state governors for refusing to sign death warrants for convicted criminals.

He suggested many governors fear moral or religious consequences or the burden of authorising executions.

West said, “Governors are afraid, possibly fearing ‘the blood of another man’ will be upon them, but the law requires their signature. Refusing to sign keeps condemned prisoners alive at the state’s expense and denies justice. Governors who refuse to sign are unfit for office.”

He emphasised that signing death warrants upholds justice and deters serious crimes.

Legal Perspective on Signing Death Warrants

Human rights lawyer Barrister Anthony Ndeze has explained that governors are not legally compelled to sign death warrants; it is discretionary. While the law allows for the death penalty, governors may grant clemency based on circumstances or personal beliefs.

“Governors may hesitate because of faith or fear that they bear responsibility, but in reality, they comply with the law. Signing the warrant is not an act of killing—it is the law that enforces the sentence,” he said.

Political, religious factors hindering executions

The North Central Coordinator of Civil Liberties Organisations (CLO), Comrade Steve Aluko, said governors avoid signing death warrants due to political reasons, fear of miscarriage of justice, or sentiment. While some governors act cautiously, many lack the political will to enforce capital punishment even when cases are clear.

He added that religious, ethnic, or political factors often influence governors’ reluctance to authorise executions.