Build more correctional facilities, Ogun CJ urges govt

File photo: Ogun CJ, Modupe Dipeolu

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The Chief Judge of Ogun State, Justice Modupe Dipeolu, has urged the government to construct additional correctional facilities as a long-term solution to persistent overcrowding in prisons across the state.

Justice Dipeolu made the call on Monday in Abeokuta while addressing journalists after supervising jail delivery exercises at the Oba Correctional Centre in Oba and the Ibara Correctional Centre in Abeokuta.

She explained that although her office is mandated to conduct jail delivery exercises at least once every quarter to reduce congestion, the exercise alone cannot permanently solve the problem without increased government investment in correctional infrastructure.

According to the Chief Judge, the intervention has helped tackle prolonged pre-trial detention, delayed trials, and overcrowding, leading to the release of no fewer than 316 inmates across the state so far.

She noted that 48 inmates were freed in April 2024, 49 in November 2024, and 100 in May 2025.

She added that a Special Intervention Week held at the Sagamu Correctional Centre between November 24 and December 5, 2025, resulted in the release of 187 inmates, while 29 inmates regained freedom from the Oba and Ibara centres during Monday’s exercise.

Justice Dipeolu disclosed that another Special Intervention Week has been scheduled for the Ilaro Correctional Centre from December 15 to 23, 2025, during which 235 cases will be reviewed.

She revealed that the urgency of the exercise was heightened after she received a distress message from the Ogun State Controller of Correctional Centres over severe congestion in all five facilities in the state.

Recalling the Sagamu intervention, she said eight magistrates sat daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for one week to fast-track cases and ease congestion.

While reaffirming the judiciary’s commitment to justice, fairness, and the rule of law, the Chief Judge stressed that sustainable decongestion requires government action.

“The jail delivery exercise alone is not enough. We need more correctional facilities, and only the government can make that happen,” she said.

She also cautioned inmates who were released to live responsibly and avoid actions that could return them to custody.

In November, the European Union Agency for Asylum, in its report, revealed that Nigeria’s custodial centres are battling “escalating security challenges.”

The agency attributed this to overcrowding, structural deficiencies, and chronic underfunding as major contributors to the problem.

“Over the past decade, Nigeria has experienced a pattern of prison jailbreaks, resulting in thousands of inmates escaping correctional facilities nationwide,” the report noted. https://punchng.com/overcrowding-security-lapses-plague-nigerian-prisons-eu/

Adetutu has three years experience in publishing stories on gender, health, education, metro and fact-checking.

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