Amnesty International has warned about the potential spread of Covid-19 in the country’s overcrowded prisons and detention centres. It highlights the case of Kaduna Prison which although having a capacity of only 473 inmates, as of early April had “1,480 prisoners; while Enugu Maximum Security Prison with capacity for 638, now has 2,077 prisoners.” In […]
Last updated: July 2024
DETAINEE DATA
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2001
2017
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2009
2017
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
2009
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2001
2017
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2001
2017
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2009
2009
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 16/19
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on Migrant Workers
§ 34. The Committee recommends that the State party: […]
(b) Ensure that administrative detention is used only as a measure of last resort and that non-custodial alternatives are provided, in line with the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2013) on the rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families;
(c) Cease the detention of children on the basis of their or their parents’ immigration status and adopt alternatives to detention that allow children to remain with family members and/or guardians in non-custodial, community-based contexts while their immigration status is being reviewed, in line with the principles of the best interests of the child and the child’s right to family life.
36. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure that all migrant workers and members of their families, particularly those in detention, have recourse to consular support to protect the rights set out in the Convention;
[…]
2007
2007
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 76. "The Committee urges the State party to take all measures to guarantee the rights
and well-being of internally displaced children. In particular, the State party is urged:
(a) To adopt a comprehensive national policy on IDPs which, inter alia,
identifies the agency responsible for the registration, monitoring and protection
of IDPs, including children;
(b) To ensure that, until such policy is in place, the National Commission for
Refugees (NCFR) and the Nigerian Red Cross are provided with the necessary
resources to effectively protect and ensure the rights of internally displaced
children."
2010
2010
Committee on Migrant Workers
41, recommends that the State party:
(a) Decriminalize irregular migration and make provision for appropriate
administrative penalties for such offences, since the Committee considers that, in
accordance with its general comment No. 2 (2013) and its general comment No. 5 (2021),
inter alia, irregular entry or stay or exit may constitute administrative offences at most
and should never be considered criminal offences, as they do not infringe upon
fundamental, legally protected values and, as a result, are not crimes per se against
persons, property or national security;
(b) Adopt measures to phase out, and ultimately put an end to, immigration
detention; and enact a presumption in law against detention and therefore in favour of
freedom;
(c) Immediately cease immigration detention of children, whether
unaccompanied, separated from their parents, or together with their families, and of
other vulnerable groups of migrant workers and members of their families as well as
asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons;
(d) Ensure that:
(i) In all other cases, the detention of migrants is an exceptional measure of last resort, pursuing a legitimate end permitted by law, and that it is necessary and proportionate, and applied for the shortest possible period of time;
(ii) The grounds for detention are specified in each case, with specific reasons why alternative measures cannot be implemented;
(iii) The measure is reviewed within 24 hours by an independent and impartial judicial authority;
(iv) In line with its human rights obligations, alternative measures to detention are considered and made use of before imposing detention measures. The Committee recognizes alternatives to detention as being all community-based care measures or non-custodial accommodation solutions – in law, policy or practice – that are less restrictive than detention and that must be considered in the context of lawful detention decision procedures to ensure that detention is
necessary and proportionate in all cases, with the aim of respecting the human rights and avoiding the arbitrary detention of migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees and stateless persons;
(e) Ensure that alternative measures to detention are applied to asylum-seekers and refugees, and in all cases of voluntary return, and that migrant workers and members of their families are informed of their rights and about procedures in the detention context in a language they understand;
(f) In exceptional cases where detention cannot be avoided, ensure that all
immigration detention facilities are officially designated for this purpose, guarantee
adequate and decent conditions, such as gender-responsive health services, including
sexual and reproductive health services, psychological care, water, sanitation and
hygiene, food, sufficient space and ventilation, leisure and recreational activities and
access to outdoor areas;
(g) Strictly separate detention regimes from “voluntary” placement in “migration screening centres”, including in statutory law, and provide for State-run or community-run shelters, which are physically separated from an immigration detention centre and are not situated on the same premises;
(h) Ensure that women detainees are held separately from men, are guarded only by adequately trained women officers and are protected against violence, in particular sexual violence, and that specific provisions are made for pregnant and nursing women;
(i) Strengthen mechanisms to regularly monitor conditions in migrant detention centres and grant human rights monitors, including humanitarian agencies, the National Human Rights Commission, and non-governmental organizations, unannounced and unhindered access to all migrant detention centres.
2023
2023
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
Yes
152.337 Adopt measures in order to gradually reduce the use of the detention
of migrants and, over time, put an end to it (Chad);...
152.338 Decriminalize irregular migration and provide appropriate
administrative sanctions for this type of offence (Côte d’Ivoire);.....
152.333 Redouble efforts to prevent violence against migrants, and ensure that
the use of force in migration management operations is governed by the
principles of legality, absolute necessity and proportionality (Togo); ........
2024
4th
2024
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Amnesty International has warned about the potential spread of Covid-19 in the country’s overcrowded prisons and detention centres. It highlights the case of Kaduna Prison which although having a capacity of only 473 inmates, as of early April had “1,480 prisoners; while Enugu Maximum Security Prison with capacity for 638, now has 2,077 prisoners.”
In Kaduna Prison, two uprisings among inmates on 31 March and 3 April led to the death of 9 prisoners, leaving many injured. Panic related to the pandemic and sanitary conditions led to an escape attempt in Aba prison on 16 May, where one inmate was killed.
On 22 April, Nigeria’s President Buhari urged the chief judge to release prison inmates awaiting trial for more than six years, as well as elderly prisoners and those who are terminally ill. He stated that “42 percent of Nigeria's 74,000 or so prisoners were awaiting trial.” On 9 April, the government announced the upcoming release of 2,670 prisoners during the pandemic and on 15 May, the chief justice called for the speed up of the decongestion of custodial centres. However, immigration arrests are still being conducted during the pandemic, according to reports from 1 May.
Government Agencies
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - https://foreignaffairs.gov.ng/
Ministry of immigration - https://immigration.gov.ng/
International Organisations
UNHCR - https://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/countries/nigeria
IOM - https://nigeria.iom.int/
ILO - https://www.ilo.org/regions-and-countries/africa/nigeria
NGO & Research Institutions
Amnesty - https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/west-and-central-africa/nigeria/
Human Rights Watch - https://www.hrw.org/africa/nigeria
Caritas - https://caritasnigeria.org/
