Nigeria State and Administration of Correctional Centres in Nigeria under Buhari Government: Issues and Prognoses

The Nigeria Correctional Services is saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring the development, maintenance and rehabilitation of the convicts using correctional facilities. Also, it has a responsibility to ensure security of the inmates and the entire facilities to avoid jail break. Incidentally, jailbreaks seem to have become a recurring incidence in Nigeria particularly under the Buhari administration. Such a worrisome trajectory appears to be linked to poor administration of the correctional services centres. Therefore, this paper examines the nexus between Nigeria state and administration of correctional centres under Buhari Government. The posits that the Nigerian correctional centres are poorly funded, understaffed, lack infrastructural facilities, overcrowded due to delay in justice system and also lack technology to effectively prevent jailbreak. It argues that under-utilization of intelligence and non-installation of surveillance gadgets seem to account for recurring jailbreaks in Nigeria. This has led to increase in insecurity manifest in insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery that has continued to threaten the corporate existence of the Nigerian state. The paper is anchored on broken window theory as a framework of analysis. While relying on documentary approach by utilizing secondary sources of data and depended on content analysis. Paper revealed that under-utilization of intelligence and non-installation of surveillance gadgets in preventing crime by the Nigerian state increased incidences of jailbreak in Nigeria. Thus, it recommends among other things, the need for adequate and timely utilization of intelligence and installation of surveillance in the administration of correctional centres in Nigeria.