Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has revealed that thousands of inmates in Nigerian correctional centers were imprisoned for minor offences that did not warrant incarceration.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Regional Conference on the Classification of Prisoners and the Use of Technology in Prisons in Africa in Abuja, Tunji-Ojo said a review of correctional records shortly after he assumed office uncovered more than 4,000 inmates serving jail terms over fines and compensation of less than N500,000.

The conference was organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the African Correctional Services Association (ACSA).

According to the minister, the government found it uneconomical to keep such offenders in custody, as the cost of feeding them exceeded the value of the fines they owed.

“It made no sense for the government to spend far more on feeding inmates than the value of the fines they owed. After reviewing those cases, we cleared them and reduced the population of our correctional centers by about five per cent in a single day,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He also disclosed that 93 per cent of inmates in Nigeria’s correctional facilities are state offenders, while only seven per cent are being held for federal offences.

Tunji-Ojo attributed persistent overcrowding in correctional centres across Africa to the imprisonment of people for offences that could be addressed through alternatives to custodial sentences.

“You have to look at those particular offences. You will realise that more than 30, 40 or even 50 per cent are offences that do not warrant incarceration,” he said.