FG PLANS TO SPEND N22.4 BILLION COUNTRYWIDE ON FEEDING PRISONERS.

On Thursday, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced that Nigeria would spend N22.4 billion on feeding prisoners in jails and prisons around the country.

Dr. Shuaib Belgore, the Permanent Secretary for the Interior Ministry, said as much during a two-day High Conference on Decongestion and Corrections Management in Abuja, the capital of the country.

According to Belgore, the fund has a budget in the 2023 Appropriations Act. According to him, the number of people housed in these facilities has been steadily increasing, and at least 80% of them are detainees who are awaiting trial.

He claims that there are 244 detention facilities across the country, with 75,507 detainees, making 82 of them overcrowded.

He stated that there are 1,686 female inmates and 73,821 male inmates overall. 52,436 of the 75,507 prisoners are awaiting trial, 23,071 have been found guilty, and 3,322 are on death row as condemned prisoners.