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The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has intensified its campaign against contraband smuggling and staff misconduct, destroying 1,167 mobile phones recovered from various custodial centres and sanctioning 147 personnel for various infractions.
Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, announced the measures on Tuesday while supervising the destruction of the confiscated devices at the service’s headquarters in Abuja.
The phones included various models such as iPhones, Android devices and basic button phones. Nwakuche described the action as a clear demonstration of the service’s commitment to maintaining security, order and integrity within correctional facilities. He said the destroyed items were recovered during operations over the past eight months and represented a serious threat to prison discipline. “These include mobile phones, SIM cards, and other unauthorised materials,” he stated. “Their presence within our facilities is unacceptable. They compromise security, disrupt discipline, and create channels through which criminal activities are sustained from within custody.”
The Controller-General also revealed that cash totalling N2,569,000 confiscated from inmates during the operations had been paid into the government treasury in line with financial regulations. The sanctions against the 147 personnel were linked to various acts of misconduct, including complicity in contraband trafficking.
Nwakuche warned that the service would not tolerate any form of indiscipline or sabotage. “Let me state clearly: the trafficking of contraband into our custodial centres cannot occur without some level of internal compromise,” he said. “Any officer who aids, ignores, or facilitates this act is in direct violation of their oath and a threat to the integrity of this Service. Anyone found culpable will be visited with the full weight of the law, as others before them have already experienced. Be warned.”
The development comes as the NCoS continues broader reforms aimed at improving the management of correctional facilities across the country. Officials have emphasised that these measures are part of a wider effort to professionalise the service and address long-standing challenges related to security breaches within prisons.
Mobile phones have long been a major concern in Nigerian prisons, with smuggled devices often used by inmates to coordinate criminal activities, maintain contact with criminal networks outside, and even direct operations from behind bars. Nwakuche assured that the service remains focused on its core mandate of safe custody and rehabilitation while upholding the highest standards of discipline among its personnel. He urged all officers to adhere strictly to their professional responsibilities and avoid any actions that could undermine the reforms.
The announcement reflects ongoing efforts by the correctional service to tackle internal vulnerabilities that have historically compromised the security of custodial centres.
Smuggling of contraband, including phones, drugs and other prohibited items, has been a recurring problem, often linked to collusion by some officers. Stakeholders have welcomed the decisive action, though some have called for sustained monitoring to ensure lasting change.
