NCoS Faults States Over Minors in Adult Prisons, Cites Collapse of Remand Homes

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has blamed the continued detention of minors in adult custodial centres on systemic failures at the state level, particularly the collapse of juvenile remand homes across the country.

Timothy Dabit, Head of the Welfare Department at the NCoS, made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja during the third public hearing of the Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption, Abuse of Power, Torture, and Other Inhumane Treatment by the NCoS. The panel, set up by Minister of Interior Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, is chaired by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalene Ajani.

Dabit explained that underage detainees often arrive at adult facilities with police warrants, leaving correctional officers with no choice but to admit them. The problem, he said, is compounded by the absence of functional juvenile facilities near the place of arrest.

“Currently, only three such facilities in Kaduna, Ilorin, and Abeokuta are operational, and only Abeokuta serves remand purposes,” he noted, adding that overcrowding remains a challenge. Kaduna’s borstal accommodates 288 inmates, Ilorin 250, and Abeokuta 250.

He stressed that establishing and maintaining remand homes is the constitutional responsibility of state governors, lamenting that most have abandoned them. “This panel will do us a lot of good if we can get in contact with the state governors. Let them rejuvenate their remand homes so that young offenders can be put there in calm,” Dabit appealed.

Addressing allegations about pregnant women in custody, Dabit said such women are usually brought in already pregnant and undergo immediate testing. “Nobody gets pregnant when they are in the custodial centre,” he stated.

Representatives of the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists and the Nigerian Psychological Association expressed deep concern over the detention of minors in adult facilities. Speaking on behalf of both bodies, Dr Abigail Onu commended the panel’s intervention but urged urgent reforms.

“We urge the government to remove children under 18 from adult facilities and provide specialised care centres or approved orphanages with psychological and medical support,” she said, warning of the long-term harm caused by such detention.

Onu also called for nationwide reforms, including the recruitment of more psychologists, adoption of trauma-informed care, and expansion of mental health services in correctional institutions.