What's behind Nigeria's increase in jailbreaks?

In the past decade, Nigeria has witnessed a disturbing pattern of jailbreaks that have resulted in thousands of inmates escaping from correctional facilities across the country. The most recent incident occurred on March 24, when 12 inmates escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Center in Koton Karfe, Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. Only six of the inmates were caught by authorities and taken back into custody.

The incident was the fourth jailbreak recorded at the same prison facility over the last decade. Nearly 700 inmates have escaped from the facility, including around 100 inmates freed in 2012, when terrorist group Boko Haram stormed the prison to release seven of its members who were held there.

Reacting to the latest escape at the end of March, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) spokesperson, Abubakar Umar, told local media that the inmates had tampered with the padlocks in part of the facility, allowing them to escape. The NCoS says it has since ordered a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and added that a security audit was conducted across correctional facilities in the country to prevent future jailbreaks.

Yet critics are quick to point out that the recurring pattern of jailbreaks in recent years reflect a systemic problem related to how jails are managed in Nigeria.

Hundreds of inmates escaped a prison in Borno State, Nigeria after flooding occurred in November 2024Image: Ahmed Kingimi/REUTERS

As of 2010, over 7,000 people have escaped from prisons across the country with many still remaining at large, according to 2021 statistics compiled by media outlet Al Jazeera. By now, however, the number is certainly much higher as some incidents have involved the escape of several hundred prisoners. In 2022, for example, Boko Haram freed around 600 prisoners while attacking a prison with high-grade explosives and guns near Nigeria's capital, Abuja, while trying to release some of its militants.

Overcrowding and poor living conditions

Prisons in Nigeria — Africa's most populous country — are notorious for being overcrowded and for having outdated infrastructure, including some structures  which date back to the period of British colonial rule. Data in March released by the Nigerian Correctional Services, the agency in charge of the management of the country's prison system, show that two-thirds of inmates are simply awaiting trial. According to statistics provided by the Nigerian Correctional Service in March, out of a total 77,800 inmates across 240 prisons in the country, only 26,898 people have actually been convicted of a crime.

The high number of prisoners awaiting trial has put the spotlight on the country's slow judicial system. The overcrowded conditions, coupled with poor treatment of inmates and lack of security equipment makes the country's prisons prone to attacks, including invasions by armed groups and inmate riots.

But beyond that, Samuel Malik, senior researcher at the African think tank Good Governance Africa, believes the pattern of jailbreaks in the country raises questions about security lapses and insider complicity, partly due to widespread corruption in the prison system.

"It was revealed that a detainee had access to a phone with which he communicated with members of the group on the outside. Why was a detainee allowed access to a mobile phone? And why wasn't his communication with external members of the group monitored? All of this points to intelligence failure," he said.

Funke Adeoye, executive director of Hope Behind Bars Africa, a nonprofit promoting criminal justice reform in Nigeria, told DW that there needs to be more cooperation among security agencies when it comes to gathering intelligence and addressing some of the security lapses that make jailbreaks fairly commonplace. "The Nigerian Correctional Service alone may not be able to address this issue effectively. For example, we know that the Department of State Services (DSS) has intelligence capabilities. So, perhaps there needs to be better intelligence coordination among the security agencies, and even with state governments, to effectively analyse these issues," she explained, adding that "when jailbreaks occur, it's the society that's at risk."

Boko Haram raided a prison near Abuja, freeing several hundred inmatesImage: Afolabi Sotunde/REUTERS

Too many idle hands

In 2019, former president Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigeria Correctional Services Act into law in an attempt to reform the prison system. Apart from changing the name from the "Nigerian Prisons Services" to "Correctional Services," not much has changed when it comes to key issues, especially when it comes to offering inmates proper rehabilitation and reintegration programs.

Adoeye points out that there must be "systems and structures in place" for reform to happen: "We need systems for guidance and counsellling, mental health, vocational training and ensuring proper reintegration once inmates are released from prison. Unfortunately, the Nigerian Correctional Service needs to invest more in the rehabilitation and training of inmates, especially in rural communities," Adeoye added, "as the saying goes, 'idle hands are the devil's workshop.' If inmates are left inside these facilities from morning to night with nothing to do, it creates problems."

Adeoye also advocated for the prison system to be equipped with technology, including a centralized inmate database that is publicly available.