Minister reveals 4,000 inmates jailed for minor fines, clears cases in one day

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed that over 4,000 inmates were imprisoned across Nigeria for minor offences and small fines of less than N500,000—offences that didn't warrant incarceration. He announced this at a UNODC-African Correctional Services Association conference in Abuja on Wednesday. The government spent far more feeding these inmates than the total fines owed but immediately reviewed and cleared the cases, reducing correctional centre population by about five per cent in one day. The minister also noted that 93 per cent of Nigeria's inmates are state offenders while only seven per cent face federal charges, highlighting systemic overcrowding where 30-50 per cent of imprisoned individuals are held for non-custodial offences. Many African correctional facilities face similar challenges where minor infractions lead to unnecessary incarceration. This raises questions about justice system efficiency and taxpayer resource allocation across the continent.

SOURCE: https://dailypost.ng/2026/07/15/thousands-imprisoned-over-minor-offences-small-fines-tunji-ojo/