Crime
Congestion: Condemned inmates on the rise, Govs refuse to approve execution
There are no fewer than 3,145 inmates on death row in custodial centres across the country.
Spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, in his response to an enquiry by one of our correspondents, said there were 3,084 males and 61 females on death row.
Some lawyers and human rights activists have consistently expressed concerns over the fate of the inmates, as most state governors refuse to sign the death warrant, leading to the rising number of inmates on death row. Some of them have suggested the conversion of the death sentence to life imprisonment, while some argued that if government wasn’t unwilling to sign the warrant, capital punishment should be expunged from the constitution and other relevant laws.
Meanwhile, despite complaints by several stakeholders, including lawyers and authorities of the NCoS, over the congestion of the facilities, the number of inmates in the custodial centres has continued to rise, fuelling its congestion and making the management of the centres difficult.
Figures on the website of the NCoS indicated that as of July 4, there were a total of 74,675 inmates in the country, comprising 52,714 awaiting trial and 21,961 convicted inmates. Also, the total number of male inmates was given as 73,139 while there were 1,536 female inmates.
SANS react
Speaking on the fate of inmates on death row, human rights lawyers, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) said the indefinite detention of inmates on death row in correctional facilities could not be justified under the law.
He said, “Our governors ought to be challenged to address prison congestion caused by their failure to ratify death warrants. It is not enough to withhold their approval. We should be honest enough to admit that the death penalty cannot be implemented. Therefore, it ought to go and be replaced by life imprisonment or other terms of imprisonment.
“The law has been amended to say, ‘If a prisoner on death roll exhausts his/her right of appeal and the death penalty is not executed within ten years, the judge has the same powers to commit the death sentence to life imprisonment.’”
Also reacting, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) noted that the governors should exercise their statutory responsibility to sign the warrant for those who have been convicted by the court and have no pending appeal.
He added, “The challenge is that most governors are reluctant to sign. The solution to this is that it would be necessary to consider death row inmates who have been there for a particular time to be committed to life imprisonment. It constitutes torture for one to be expecting to die every day and it lingers on for 10 or fifteen years.
“The Supreme Court has said if one is kept on death roll for too long, it constitutes a torture. The government should set a time limit so anyone waiting to be executed should be committed to life imprisonment or a lesser punishment instead of just crowding the prisons in that regard.”
The United States has said Nigeria has yet to make sufficient progress in addressing attacks on Christian communities, warning that the country’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) should remain in place.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, stated this while responding to questions from US Congressman Riley Moore during a congressional hearing on violence in Nigeria on Thursday.
Moore questioned the Nigerian government’s efforts to dismantle militia strongholds and kidnapping camps in the Middle Belt, particularly in Benue and Plateau states.
He also demanded explanations for the exclusion of Benue and Plateau from the 10 states covered by Nigeria’s new forest guard initiative, despite persistent attacks in the areas.
The congressman further expressed concern that 1,000 presidentially approved forest guards for Plateau State had yet to be deployed.
Moore maintained that the US should not remove Nigeria from the CPC list, arguing that the country had not done enough to address the violence.
“Before you answer that, we cannot take this CPC designation off of this country. They have not done enough,” he said.
Responding, Garcia acknowledged that Nigeria had not made sufficient progress but maintained that the government was taking steps to address the concerns, although the measures had yet to produce the desired results.
“I think we would agree, as Under Secretary Hooker stated, after our CPC meeting that progress has not been there, but that doesn’t mean that Nigeria is dismissing concerns, and it doesn’t mean that they’re not taking actions, but it does mean that it hasn’t had an impact to this point,” Garcia said.
He identified the establishment of the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as an important step towards ensuring accountability, noting that the platform would provide a framework for monitoring Nigeria’s commitments and assessing their implementation.
Garcia also acknowledged US-supported counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin but noted that such efforts had not necessarily addressed the activities of Fulani militants operating across the Middle Belt.
“I would have to characterise the Nigerians’ placement at this point as in building capacity. And that capacity is not deployed, is not being effective yet, and is not moving fast enough, as far as I’m concerned. But we do see a seriousness, and a deployment underway with the Nigerian government,” he said.
In his prepared testimony, Garcia said President Donald Trump’s administration had prioritised the persecution of Christians in Nigeria since the country was redesignated a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, 2025.
He noted that attacks had continued despite diplomatic engagements, citing an attack on a Christian community in Kaduna State on July 27 and killings in Plateau State in August and September.
“Unfortunately, the violence has not stopped,” Garcia said, describing the attacks as an ongoing atrocity.
According to him, the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group, which held its inaugural meeting in Abuja in January and another meeting in Washington in August, had been engaging the Nigerian government on improved security deployments in vulnerable Middle Belt communities, faster responses to early warnings and accountability for perpetrators.
He added that Washington had provided training and equipment to police units responsible for protecting vulnerable communities through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
The US had also expanded biometric information-sharing with Nigeria to help identify and prosecute perpetrators and engaged Nigerian financial institutions on measures to disrupt terrorist financing networks allegedly funding attacks on churches.
Garcia further disclosed that US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, had raised concerns about civilian casualties, the safe and voluntary return of internally displaced persons and transparency in humanitarian aid delivery during the Joint Working Group’s second meeting.
However, he acknowledged that Nigeria’s security architecture remained stretched, while judicial access to some parts of the Middle Belt remained limited.
Garcia said the US would continue to deploy diplomatic engagements, the CPC designation and targeted security cooperation to press for the protection of Christian communities and accountability for those responsible for attacks.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Federal Government has consistently rejected allegations of a Christian genocide or systematic religious persecution, maintaining that the country’s security challenges are driven by broader issues, including terrorism, banditry, communal violence and resource conflicts, which affect citizens of different religious backgrounds.
Couple Sentenced To Five Years In Prison Each For Attempting To Sell One-Year-Old So
A Nigerian couple have been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment each for attempting to sell their one-year-old son for exploitation in Cross River State.
The couple, identified as 28-year-old Emmanuel Okechukwu Ogbodo and 22-year-old Peace Ufeabuchi Nnamonu, were convicted by the Federal High Court in Calabar after pleading guilty to conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The convicts were sentenced on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after they were arraigned on November 3, 2026, on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and attempted child trafficking.
The charges were brought under Sections 27 and 29 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
Delivering judgment, Justice Rosemary Dugbo Oghoghorie sentenced each defendant to five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and two and a half years for attempted child trafficking.
However, the court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, meaning the couple will each spend a total of five years in prison rather than serve the sentences consecutively.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), which announced the conviction in statements shared on its Facebook and X accounts, said the prison terms would take effect from the date of the couple’s arrest.
NAPTIP condemned the couple’s actions and reiterated its commitment to prosecuting human trafficking offences and protecting vulnerable persons, particularly children.
The agency also urged members of the public to report suspected cases of child trafficking to the appropriate authorities.
Six fresh graduates of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), have reportedly been found dead in an apartment around the Hilltop area of the university community in Enugu State.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday morning, has thrown the university community into mourning and sparked panic among residents and students.
According to a report by Daily Post, the victims, comprising five females and one male, were said to have graduated on Wednesday, a day before their bodies were discovered.
Their graduation celebration has reportedly turned into tragedy, with the circumstances surrounding their deaths yet to be established.
Efforts to reach the Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, for confirmation were unsuccessful, as calls put through to his telephone were not answered.
Meanwhile, anxiety has gripped the Hilltop area and the wider university community, with students and residents seeking answers over the tragic incident.
As of the time of filing this report, the police had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
Security agencies have launched a manhunt for two convicted inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Okene, Kogi State.
The Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed the incident, which reportedly occurred on Sunday, November 8, 2026, saying efforts were underway in collaboration with other security agencies to recapture the fleeing inmates.
The Service’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Corrections Jane Osuji, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
According to Osuji, the Controller-General of Corrections has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident to establish the circumstances surrounding the escape and identify any possible security breaches.
She explained that the investigation would examine potential lapses in the facility’s security arrangements and determine appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence.
The correctional authorities assured members of the public that all necessary steps were being taken to track down the escapees and return them to custody.
The Service also pledged to provide further updates as verified information emerges from the ongoing investigation.
The incident comes weeks after an awaiting-trial inmate escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Auchi, Edo State, where he was being held over allegations of conspiracy and stealing.
Saudi Arabia has executed five Ethiopian nationals convicted of smuggling hashish into the kingdom, bringing the number of executions carried out in the country this year to 205.
The Saudi Interior Ministry announced the executions on Thursday, November 5, 2026, saying the five men were found guilty of participating in the smuggling of hashish into the country.
According to a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency, the executions were carried out in the Asir region in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
The latest executions bring to 32 the number of Ethiopian nationals put to death in Saudi Arabia in 2026, making Ethiopians the largest foreign nationality among those executed this year.
Five Ethiopians were reportedly executed in June, while another five were put to death in July over similar drug-related offences.
The latest development comes amid growing international concern over Saudi Arabia’s increasing use of capital punishment, particularly against foreign nationals convicted of drug-related offences.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a report published in July, warned that at least 79 Ethiopian nationals remained at imminent risk of execution over similar charges.
The rights organisation also raised concerns about alleged violations of fair trial guarantees, including inadequate access to legal representation and interpretation services for some Ethiopian migrants facing capital punishment.
Saudi Arabia recorded 356 executions in 2025, its highest annual figure on record.
Thousands of Ethiopians live and work in Saudi Arabia, many of whom migrate in search of employment through the dangerous Eastern Route connecting the Horn of Africa to the oil-rich kingdom through Yemen.
The route exposes migrants to serious security and humanitarian risks during their journey.
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