The Nigerian Correctional Service has revealed a troubling mental health crisis within its custodial centres, disclosing that 8,246 inmates are currently suffering from mental illness.\n<\/p>\n
This figure was made public during the third public hearing of the Independent Investigative Panel on Alleged Corruption, Abuse of Power, Torture, and Other Inhumane Treatment by the NCoS, held in Abuja, on Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n
The Assistant Controller General of Corrections in charge of Medical Services, Dr. Glory Essien, highlighted the harsh reality of incarceration and its impact on mental health during her address to the panel.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have 8,246 inmates with mental health conditions in our custodial centres.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the moment someone is brought in\u2014those who have seen a custodial centre know what I mean\u2014the police escort them to the gate, it\u2019s opened, they\u2019re admitted, and then that gate locks behind them.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThat instant loss of freedom can trigger something. Some begin to show signs of disturbed behaviour almost immediately, as if something in their mind has shifted,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
Essien further explained that the prison system relies on an internal network of trained inmate-leaders who assist staff in identifying those showing signs of psychological distress.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese leaders are trained to alert the staff when they notice concerning behaviour. They might say, \u2018This inmate seems dazed, hasn\u2019t eaten, hasn\u2019t spoken to anyone.\u2019 That helps us intervene early,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
Despite these efforts, the scale of mental health issues far exceeds the available resources.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re in a facility housing 500 to 1,000 inmates, and you\u2019re the only attending doctor, nurse, or psychologist, it\u2019s simply not possible to monitor everyone individually.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we rely on these trained inmates to help us identify those in need, so we can provide care as best we can,\u201d the ACG noted.\n<\/p>\n
She also underscored the logistical challenges of delivering mental healthcare in correctional facilities.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMental illness is chronic\u2014it\u2019s not like malaria where you give a dose and it clears up,\u201d she said, pointing to transportation issues, limited drug supplies, and staff shortages as ongoing obstacles.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not operating in a five-star environment. But with the little we have, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of our work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Adding to the discussion, the Assistant Controller General of Corrections in charge of pharmaceutical services, Mohammed Bashir, addressed concerns around drug provision and mental health treatment. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Federal Government has actually been doing its enormous best to see that it caters for the health needs of the inmates. Money has been appropriated, but is the money enough? No.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of 81,122 inmates in 256 correctional facilities nationwide, about 2.3 percent are female,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Bashir revealed that a single item such as sanitary pads for menstruating inmates costs over \u201cN4m monthly.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
On mental healthcare, Bashir confirmed that a psychological services unit has been created within the service to focus on treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have partnership with this psychiatric and psychological association. We have the consultants that usually go to about 12 designated custodial centres that have a large number of these cases,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Yet, he admitted that drug supplies often run out within weeks due to inadequate funding and staffing.<\/p>\n
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, called for urgent support and systemic changes.\n<\/p>\n
Ajani made a passionate appeal to the Nigerian Medical Association and pharmaceutical companies for support.\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cPlease come to Macedonia and help us,\u201d she said, referencing the dire need for psychiatric and psychological aid in remote states beyond Abuja and Lagos.\n<\/p>\n
Ajani, who chairs the panel expressed concern over the maldistribution of mental health professionals.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cLet them not only be centred in Abuja and Lagos; we need them to go out to the fields. Because if we even put two in the states, it will help them,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
The permanent secretary also emphasised the need for transparency and collaboration with private companies.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cPPP arrangements will help us in terms of public-private partnership. We can approach companies that can give us drugs as CSR, they do it,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
She concluded with a call for leadership and mentorship. \u201cSo don\u2019t let us sit in the office and forget our primary responsibility. Do it now. Build a bridge and empower younger people to be able to sustain that bridge that you are building.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nigerian Correctional Service has revealed a troubling mental health crisis within its custodial centres, disclosing that 8,246…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-68036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}