According to the Federal Government, N22.44 billion will be spent on feeding prisoners in 2023.

On May 11, Shuaib Belgore, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, revealed this while urging reform of Nigeria's prison system in Abuja.

“The Federal Government budgeted N22.44 billion in the 2023 appropriation to cater for the feeding of inmates.

“There is the need for holistic Corrections reforms, including the modernisation of custodial centres to ensure the reformation and rehabilitation of inmates. Stakeholders have stressed the need to build new facilities and redesign the bail system to actualise why we are here today,” Belgore said.

He condemned the growing number of prisoners in Nigerian jails and prisons who are awaiting trial.

Based on current economic conditions, the Senate Committee on Interior enhanced the daily meal allocation for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) in 2021 from N450 per person to a minimum of N1,000 per day.

Betty Apiafi, a senator from Rivers West, proposed the increment, claiming that N450 was insufficient to feed people for a day.

Some lawyers and ex prisoners criticized the decision to raise the funds, claiming that corruption would prevent the budgeted amount from being used for the suggested meal.

The amount agreed for feeding prisoners is more than 1% of the budget for 2023, which is $21.83 trillion and will be financed in large part by foreign loans.

Belgore pointed out on Thursday that the enormous amount was further impacted by the rising number of prisoners in detention centers across the nation.

According to the Federal Government, 75% of prisoners are awaiting trial in 2022.

The huge prisoner population, according to Minister of the Interior Rauf Aregbesola, is putting a lot of strain on the nation's detention facilities and is a major concern.

In order to lower the cost of maintaining detention facilities in Nigeria, Aregbesola asked for the release of at least 30% of prisoners awaiting trial in 2022.