The Federal Capital Territory Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has dismissed recent reports alleging that female inmates nationwide are facing a shortage of menstrual hygiene products, insisting that such claims do not reflect reality within its facilities. In a statement released in Abuja, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Adamu Samson Duza, reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to upholding both national and international standards for inmate welfare.
“Sanitary pads and hygiene materials are distributed to female inmates every month at no cost, and each allocation is recorded in welfare registers,” Duza stated. He added that, “all custodial centres are equipped with healthcare units staffed by qualified medical personnel, including nurses and doctors, who attend to the medical needs of female inmates, including menstrual-related issues.”
According to Duza, these healthcare units routinely provide consultations, medications, and arrange referrals to external hospitals when specialised treatment is required. The Service further enjoys ongoing support from civil society groups, faith-based organisations, and development partners who supplement supplies and run awareness campaigns. “A recent donation from the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) is one of several contributions aimed at improving inmate welfare,” Duza explained.
He also reiterated the Command’s commitment to humane treatment, referencing the Nigerian Constitution, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), and other international conventions guiding their practices.
Yet, this statement came as a direct response to investigative reporting by The ICIR, which highlighted that menstrual product shortages do persist in some correctional facilities—including Suleja prison—and that many female inmates depend primarily on donations from charities and religious organisations. The ICIR report included accounts from inmates who said they had resorted to improvising with cotton wool, newspapers, or other makeshift materials due to a lack of official provision.
Despite the NCoS’s assertion of routine supply, advocates raise ongoing concerns over the consistency of sanitary product allocation across Nigeria’s correctional centres. They urge authorities to ensure closer monitoring and more transparent distribution to guarantee that every female inmate has adequate access to menstrual hygiene materials.
This issue is thrown into sharp relief by the scale of federal funding allocated to the correctional system. In 2020/2021, over ₦1 billion was allocated for prison biometrics, arms, and ammunition intended to enhance facility security, yet there was no dedicated budget line for sanitary pads or menstrual hygiene. The NCoS’s cumulative budget exceeded ₦165 billion across 2020 and 2021, but spending on women’s basic needs was not explicitly defined, lost within broad categories such as “catering materials” or “healthcare supplies.”
By 2022, the House of Representatives resolved to probe worsening conditions for both inmates and correctional staff, but opacity remained. In 2023, ₦22.44 billion was spent feeding inmates, and the 2025 budget earmarked ₦38.03 billion for feeding out of a total ₦45.2 billion for correctional services. The daily feeding allowance per inmate was raised from ₦750 to ₦1,150—a tangible improvement in nutrition. Still, year after year, menstrual hygiene products remained absent as an explicit budget item.Reacting to the persistent ambiguity, advocates insist that menstrual hygiene products should be clearly addressed in budget allocations, not left to the fate of broad spending categories or ad hoc donations. As one advocate put it, “Billions for prisons, nothing for pads”—a stark reminder that dignity for incarcerated women requires more than broad policy commitments or periodic donations. It demands specific, monitored, and sustained action.
While the NCoS maintains that its practices align with international standards, the lived experiences of female inmates and the advocacy community reveal urgent gaps that call for closer scrutiny and systemic reform in Nigeria’s correctional system.
