There are no fewer than 3,145 inmates on death row in custodial centres across the country.

The spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, in his response to an enquiry, said there were 3,084 males and 61 females on death row.

Some lawyers and human rights activists have consistently expressed concerns over the fate of the inmates, as most state governors refuse to sign the death warrant, leading to the rising number of inmates on death row. Some of them have suggested the conversion of the death sentence to life imprisonment, while some argued that if government wasn’t unwilling to sign the warrant, capital punishment should be expunged from the constitution and other relevant laws.

Meanwhile, despite complaints by several stakeholders, including lawyers and authorities of the NCoS, over the congestion of the facilities, the number of inmates in the custodial centres has continued to rise, fuelling its congestion and making the management of the centres difficult.

Figures on the website of the NCoS indicated that as of July 4, there were a total of 74,675 inmates in the country, comprising 52,714 awaiting trial and 21,961 convicted inmates. Also, the total number of male inmates was given as 73,139 while there were 1,536 female inmates.