Nigerian prisons are typically filthy places where overcrowding, deplorable hygiene, and what can be summed up as a lack of humanity all conspire to make incarceration a living hell for any length of time.
Many of those who have served time in Nigerian jails are never the same again, if they ever return. During the course of this study, Thetrumpet.ng acquired information about at least five deaths in police custody that occurred between November and December 2024.
On December 26, 2024, word surfaced that Fatiha Abdulhakeem, an 18-year-old woman accused of murdering Adamu Jagaba, a retired permanent secretary in Niger State, had died in police custody in Minna.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer in Niger State, Wasiu Abiodun, the suspect died after complaining of stomach pains.
Jimoh Abdulquadri of the Balogun Fulani community in Erubu, Ilorin, Kwara State is said to have died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody, after allegedly being tortured to death by certain police officers during interrogation.
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun had to go and beg the Balogun Fulani, the community’s traditional ruler, and the entire community—especially the young people—not to take matters into their own hands because his death was unexplainable.
Jimoh was arrested by police officers on December 19, 2024, for reportedly owing a colleague at Olam Farms in Offa, N220,000.
In another instance, the Okuama community’s President General, Pa James Oghoroko, and Treasurer, Pa Denis Okugbaye, respectively, reportedly died in military custody within a week of each other.
On December 10, 2024, Pa Okugbaye, 81, was reported dead while being carried to Asaba by the military from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Their arrests came after 17 soldiers were killed during a peace mission to resolve a conflict between the Okuama and Okoloba communities on March 14, 2024.
On December 11, 2024, the life of 22-year-old Jacob Emmanuel, a resident of Mpape area of Abuja, was in jeopardy after the anti-kidnapping outpost in Kado area arrested him and detained him without trial.
Prior to his death, his family was denied access to him, even as the investigating police officer, identified as Paul Shafi allegedly demanded for N200,000 before he could release the suspect.
The distraught family members had filed multiple petitions requesting that the police provide their son, Emmanuel, or charge him with a crime if any had been committed, instead of holding him in custody while his health continued to decline.
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After being held for eight months without being given a trial, Emmanuel was tortured to death, and his body was dumbed in a mortuary without informing his family.
Another report about inmates in Nasarawa State is much more frightening. According to the report, 12 detainees at the Nigeria Correctional Services Medium Security Custodial Centre in Keffi, Nasarawa State, died of an unusual ailment, apparently caused by starvation.
The deceased were reportedly buried without the knowledge or agreement of their family members.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, in June 2024 confirmed a total of 750 inmates being held at in the facility which has a capacity for 340 inmates.
Due to inadequate security, there have been attacks on prisons. It has also happened that prison walls have collapsed due to natural pressure, allowing inmates to escape.
