NCoS Threatens to Sanction Officers Over Repeated Jailbreaks

• Over 6,700 inmates have escaped Nigerian correctional centres since 2019.

• Controller-General blames negligence, vows strict sanctions on officers.

• 30 new Assistant Controllers-General decorated in Abuja.

The Nigerian Correctional Service has warned that officers found negligent in their duties will face sanctions following repeated jailbreaks across custodial centres in the country.

Controller-General of the service, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, said the security breaches were largely the result of laxity among some personnel, stressing that negligence would no longer be tolerated.

Data compiled from reports and official records showed that at least 6,700 inmates escaped from 13 facilities between 2019 and 2025. While about 2,000 have been recaptured, more than 4,600 remain at large.

Speaking during the decoration of 30 newly promoted Assistant Controllers-General of Corrections in Abuja on Friday, Nwakuche criticised what he described as the “lackadaisical attitude” of certain zonal coordinators, state controllers, and custodial officers.

“It is obvious that our Zonal Coordinators, State Controllers, and Officers-in-Charge of Custodial Centres have abdicated their duties. This is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated. Any further abdication of responsibilities will surely attract the big stick,” he said.

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The CG reminded the new officers that their promotion was not just ceremonial but a call to leadership at a time when public confidence in the correctional system remains fragile.

He reaffirmed the service’s commitment to the NCoS Act 2019, which emphasises rehabilitation and reintegration over punitive incarceration.

Nwakuche also acknowledged the support of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for ongoing reforms aimed at improving welfare for both personnel and inmates.

He stressed that the officers’ elevation represented “formal recognition of years of diligence, sacrifice, and unyielding commitment to duty.”