Nigerian civil rights activist Agba Jalingo has alleged that officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service are selling prison cell spaces to wealthy inmates for as much as 300,000 naira.
Jalingo made the claim during a two-day Investigative and Accountability Journalism Masterclass organised by the Agba Jalingo Foundation in Calabar. He said the practice reflected deep-rooted corruption within the country’s correctional facilities.
“Some prison officials across the country sell cell spaces to richer inmates,” Jalingo said. “Some charge 250,000, 300,000 or even more. I know this because I spent time there and saw how it works.”
Jalingo, a journalist and human rights advocate who was previously detained at the Afokang Federal Correctional Centre in Calabar, said his experience exposed him to the scale of systemic corruption in the prison system.
He said many inmates remained in custody despite showing good behaviour or being wrongly imprisoned, largely due to their inability to pay bribes or afford legal representation.
Jalingo added that he had written to Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu, urging clemency for deserving inmates. The governor later granted amnesty to 54 inmates at the Afokang facility, which Jalingo described as “an act of genuine compassion.”
“Before my birthday, I wrote to Governor Otu asking him to extend mercy to deserving inmates,” he said. “He surprised me positively by acting on that appeal and releasing 54 of them.”
The activist urged authorities to investigate corrupt practices within the Nigerian Correctional Service and ensure fairness for all inmates, regardless of their financial or social status.