The Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche Ofori and INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu
The Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche Ofori, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to consider allowing prisoners, especially those awaiting trial, to vote during elections, saying they also have rights.
During a visit to the INEC headquarters in Abuja, Ofori highlighted that over 81,000 Nigerians are currently in correctional centres, and more than 66 percent of them are awaiting trial meaning they are presumed innocent under the law.
“Anybody can find themselves on the other side of the law,” Ofori said. “We need to be careful how they are treated. They have rights, and one of those rights is the right to vote. The fact that they are in incarceration should not strip them of their citizenship.”
He noted that court rulings and National Assembly resolutions have previously supported prisoners voting and called on INEC to begin planning how to make this a reality, even if not immediately.
In response, INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, welcomed the proposal and acknowledged that countries like Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa already allow prisoners to vote.
Yakubu also recalled that in 2014 and 2018, court rulings affirmed that certain inmates, especially those awaiting trial, had the right to vote.
According to him, INEC had earlier set up a joint committee with the correctional service to assess how prisoners’ voting could work, including reviewing prison locations, categories of inmates, and how registration, polling, and monitoring could be carried out without security risks.
“Working together, we can seize the opportunity of ongoing electoral reform for a clear legal provision that will specifically cover citizens serving time in our correctional facilities,” Yakubu said. “Our immediate task is to engage with the National Assembly for clarity and legal backing.”
Both Ofori and Yakubu agreed that allowing prisoners to vote would require broad support and collaboration from lawmakers, civil society organisations, and other election stakeholders, especially to address concerns around campaigns, security, and who qualifies to vote.
Groups like the Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organization (CAPIO) have long pushed for prisoner voting, describing it as a way to strengthen democracy by including all citizens.
While no date has been fixed for when inmates will be allowed to vote, the meeting between INEC and the correctional service signals a growing consensus that Nigeria may be ready to join countries where prisoners are not left out of the electoral process.
“Inmates are part of our society,” Ofori said. “If we deny them the right to participate in democracy, we deny ourselves the opportunity to make our democracy truly representative.”
