The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has reassured the public that its operations are guided by professionalism and global best practices.
The Service stressed that all convicted inmates in custodial centres across the country are serving their sentences as ordered by competent courts of law.
This comes in response to reports claiming that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had rearrested a banker allegedly released illegally from the Maiduguri Medium Custodial Centre, despite being sentenced to three years in prison.
In a statement issued Thursday, the NCoS spokesperson, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC) Umar Abubakar, dismissed the reports as false, insisting the inmate remains in custody and is undergoing skills acquisition and other reformatory programmes.
“There are misleading reports circulating in some sections of the media purporting that a banker serving a jail term in one of our custodial centres was allegedly released illegally and has now been rearrested by the EFCC,” Abubakar said.
“The report has no iota of truth, as the Service operates strictly based on global correctional best practices.
“To set the record straight, the offender was sentenced to three years imprisonment without an option of fine under Section 297 of the Penal Code. He was admitted into the Maiduguri Medium Custodial Centre on June 24, 2025, and is expected to complete his jail term on June 24, 2027.
“The Service wishes to inform the general public that the inmate remains in the custody of the Maiduguri Command and is fully engaged in skills acquisition programmes and reformatory therapy as enshrined in the Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019.”
The NCoS reiterated its commitment to professionalism, respect for human rights, and adherence to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Offenders.
Abubakar further urged the public to disregard the reports, describing them as misleading, and appealed to media organisations to verify their information before publication.
