Rivers Prison Nears Collapse as Overcrowding Forces Correctional Service to Consider Halting New Inmate Admissions

The Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) in Rivers State has raised a red flag over the dire overcrowding at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre, warning that it may cease accepting new inmates if urgent action is not taken.

According to Felix Madumere, Controller of Corrections for Rivers State, the facility originally designed to accommodate 1,800 inmates is now bursting at the seams with over 2,500 detainees, pushing it well beyond safe operational limits.

He described the situation as a looming humanitarian and logistical crisis that poses serious human rights concerns.

“If the state fails to act, we may be forced to halt inmate admissions temporarily to prevent a system breakdown,” Madumere warned.

This critical warning came during the Rivers State Jail Delivery Exercise, which was launched by the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, to decongest prisons and address long-standing delays in the justice system.

As part of the exercise, 21 inmates were released, including Gospel Nwibari, who had spent 18 years in detention without trial after being arrested at just 14 years old in 2007.

Justice Amadi lamented that many of the inmates had no case files or identifiable charges, calling their prolonged detention an injustice and a failure of due process. He encouraged the freed individuals to embrace reform and reintegration.

“Continuing to detain individuals with no case files or charges serves no justice purpose,” Amadi stated.

The initiative is part of broader efforts by the judiciary to protect the rights of detainees and eliminate systemic inefficiencies in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.