The Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in Rivers State is bursting at the seams—and the situation is fast becoming a crisis.
Felix Madumere, the Controller of Corrections for Rivers State, has raised a red flag, warning that the Nigeria Correctional Service may soon have no choice but to temporarily stop admitting new inmates into the already overcrowded facility.
Originally designed to hold 1,800 inmates, the centre now houses over 2,500, placing unbearable pressure on infrastructure and raising serious concerns about the health, dignity, and human rights of those behind bars.
“If the state fails to act, we may be forced to halt inmate admissions temporarily to prevent a system breakdown,” Madumere said frankly.
A Glimmer of Relief, A Story of Injustice
Madumere’s warning came on the heels of a jail delivery exercise led by the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, which saw 21 inmates released from the overcrowded prison.
Among them was Gospel Nwibari, whose story shocked many: arrested in 2007 at just 14 years old, he spent 18 years behind bars without ever standing trial.
“Some of these inmates had no case files, no charges we could trace,” Justice Amadi explained. “Continuing to detain them serves no purpose. It does not serve justice.”
He encouraged those released to seize this second chance at life—and resist the pull of crime.
Justice Delayed, But Not Denied
The jail delivery initiative is part of a broader effort to decongest correctional centres and address the bottlenecks plaguing Nigeria’s legal system.
For too long, thousands of Nigerians have languished in prison for minor offences—or for no proven offences at all—simply because of slow legal processes, missing files, or unresponsive systems.
Justice Amadi reiterated the judiciary’s commitment to reforming the criminal justice system, saying their goal is not only to dispense justice but to uphold the rights and dignity of every detainee.
More Than Numbers—These Are Lives
What’s happening at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre is more than a logistical issue—it’s a human one. For every statistic, there is a face. A story. A Gospel Nwibari who spent nearly two decades in prison waiting for a day in court that never came.
Unless urgent steps are taken by the government and justice institutions, many more could suffer similar fates. The warning from Controller Madumere is clear: the system is stretched to its limits.
And the time to act is now.
