Reminding people of the consequences of crime is an obvious deterrent for bad behaviour, but the mere mention of Kirikiri prisons or any Nigerian prison for that matter inspires a different form of fear.

Prisons are not exactly made to be palatial residences, but the state of Nigerian prisons cuts a sorry sight.

Dimly-lit with almost no ventilation, the rooms are overcrowded to more than thrice their normal capacity. Inmates often have to ease their bodies in buckets tucked in a corner of the room.

Rules of seniority and physical power apply so by night, some inmates learn to sleep standing or sitting with their backs to the wall.

A large number of these inmates are temporary residents. As of February 12, 2018, 69% of prison inmates around Nigeria were awaiting trials.

There’s an entire group of inmates that cannot relate to this reality.

Tales abound of special areas in Nigerian prisons where inmates live a life of comfort separated from the majority.

Wealth, Influence and Classism

Ex-inmates, upon their return from jail, have shared accounts of how some inmates pay for residence in special rooms where they enjoy many of the privileges you would associate with freedom.



There is a strict sense of seniority in Nigerian prisons. However, wealth also matters.  (All Africa )

According to a report by Punch Newspapers, inmates who have the money, pay anything between N70,000 and N300,000 to live in the facility’s VIP section.

Gwamnishu Harrison, an ex-inmate who has now become a prison reform advocate, told Punch that, depending on the amount of money they are willing to pay and the severity of their crime, inmates can live in “apartments” with personal access to abhor, toilet, television and even generators.

Some of the wealthier inmates get guards and servants, chosen from among the less opportune inmates.

In exchange for their servitude, they get few luxuries of their own; a handout, a meal, some spare change.

"They pay a lot of money to warders to be able to use their own smartphones. Are you not surprised that there are sometimes reports of inmates defrauding people even while still in prison?", Harrison says.

A lot of this is consistent with what appears apparent from the outside.

While it is not unusual for wealthy persons to go the jail, the influence and financial power wielded by some of these inmates makes you wonder if they actually go to jail.



Congestion is commonplace in Nigerian prisons.  (The Nations)

We’ve heard reports of incarcerated politicians and businessmen running their rackets from prison by way of phone calls and messages.

A complex ecosystem

From the outside, the desolate walls of a Nigerian prison reek of sorrow and regret; but on the inside, a complex ecosystem thrives and wealthy inmates, who live in their 300k apartment, are at the centre of it.

Money drives most of Nigerian society and the prisons are no exception.

Wealthy inmates ensure their luxury is not truncated by giving gifts and a steady stream of cash payments to their landlords; the prison wardens and officials.

Crisp naira notes grease the palms of guards and anyone who comes to visit.

To survive in a place designed to break their spirits, most regular inmates have to resort to selling smuggled items such as recharge cards.

Their patrons are the wealthier folk, who, according to reports, can end up paying 1000 naira for a recharge card that costs 50% more.

Chair! What more have we not heard about the Sithole? If Nigeria is a Sithole (i'ke nsi) then it's the Sithole of mad people.