The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has dismissed reports suggesting that custodial centres across the country have become “hotbeds” for tuberculosis (TB), describing such claims as misleading, alarmist and unsupported by verified data.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Service’s spokesperson, Jane Osuji, faulted a report published by Daily Trust on January 3, 2026, titled “How Nigerian Prisons Became Tuberculosis Hotbeds,” insisting that the publication failed to accurately reflect the realities within Nigeria’s correctional facilities.
While reaffirming its openness to responsible media engagement on public health and inmate welfare, the NCoS stated that the report relied on sweeping generalisations and unverified assertions, despite the Service having provided the reporter with comprehensive and factual information on tuberculosis prevention and treatment in custodial centres.
“The portrayal of custodial centres as unchecked tuberculosis hotbeds is misleading and unfair,” the statement said, adding that some of the names and cases cited in the report do not exist in the records of any correctional facility known to the Service.
The NCoS noted that tuberculosis remains a global public health challenge affecting both custodial and non-custodial populations. It stressed that Nigeria’s TB response is coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health through the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP), in line with World Health Organization guidelines.
According to the Service, it is an active stakeholder in the national TB response, operating health clinics across custodial centres nationwide and working closely with the NTBLCP, federal and state ministries of health, non-governmental organisations and development partners.
These collaborations support routine TB screening, laboratory diagnosis, treatment initiation, adherence monitoring and referrals to secondary or tertiary health institutions where necessary. Inmates diagnosed with tuberculosis, the Service said, are placed on nationally approved treatment regimens at no cost.
The statement further explained that healthcare management in custodial centres includes medical screening upon admission, periodic health assessments, infection prevention and control measures, isolation of infectious cases when clinically indicated, and structured referral systems to external hospitals.
While acknowledging challenges such as congestion in some urban custodial facilities and ageing infrastructure, the NCoS maintained that these issues do not amount to neglect of inmate welfare. It highlighted ongoing decongestion efforts through jail delivery exercises, collaboration with the judiciary and the expansion of non-custodial measures as provided under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act.
The Service also recalled its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that despite custodial centres being classified globally as high-risk environments, proactive screening, isolation protocols and close collaboration with public health authorities ensured that no active COVID-19 cases were recorded nationwide.
According to the NCoS, this experience underscores its institutional capacity and preparedness to manage communicable diseases, including tuberculosis, within custodial settings. It added that the Federal Government has approved the recruitment of additional medical and healthcare personnel to further strengthen health service delivery, disease surveillance and treatment programmes across custodial centres.
Reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding the health, dignity and human rights of persons in custody, the Nigerian Correctional Service said it remains open to constructive criticism but will continue to challenge reports that misinform the public or unfairly malign the institution.
