The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps have agreed to deepen intelligence sharing and operational cooperation to strengthen security across custodial centres nationwide.
The agreement was reached in Abuja during a courtesy visit by a delegation led by the Chief of Military Intelligence (Army), Major General R.E. Hedima, to the Controller-General of Corrections, Sylvester Nwakuche, at the NCoS national headquarters.
The engagement focused on strengthening cooperation between the two institutions and developing practical measures to improve intelligence coordination and the security of correctional facilities.
Nwakuche described the visit as evidence of the longstanding relationship between the agencies, stressing that the changing nature of security threats made closer inter-agency cooperation necessary.
He said security was a shared national responsibility and called for timely intelligence sharing and coordinated responses to threats against custodial facilities.
The Controller-General also highlighted the scale of the correctional challenge, saying the Service currently oversees roughly 81,000 inmates nationwide.
According to him, about 65 per cent of the inmate population are awaiting trial, while more than 4,000 inmates are on death row.
Nwakuche also highlighted the Service’s rehabilitation programmes, including vocational training, formal education, juvenile interventions and deradicalisation initiatives for violent extremists.
He paid tribute to correctional officers who had lost their lives in the line of duty and said the Service remained committed to protecting custodial facilities while carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
Speaking earlier, Hedima said the Army Intelligence Corps was seeking to strengthen ties with the NCoS and identify practical areas for improving joint operational capacity.
He noted that security threats were constantly evolving and said security agencies needed to adapt through better intelligence coordination and sustained collaboration.
Hedima proposed joint institutional training, the appointment of specialised intelligence focal officers and continuous exchange of actionable intelligence between the two organisations.
Nwakuche welcomed the proposals and expressed confidence that closer cooperation would improve custodial security and contribute to Nigeria’s wider security architecture.
The latest engagement comes amid broader efforts by the NCoS to deepen cooperation with other security agencies.
In April, the Service and the Nigeria Police Force agreed to strengthen intelligence sharing, joint training and direct communication channels to improve responses to emergencies involving custodial facilities.
The NCoS Act also provides for intelligence and investigation structures within the Service to support security, surveillance, intelligence gathering and protection of custodial centres.
The Service has simultaneously continued to pursue rehabilitation and non-custodial reforms. In June, it recorded the first practical implementation of parole under the Nigerian Correctional Service Act with the release of 10 parolees in Abia State.
The NCoS and Army Intelligence Corps will now be expected to translate the latest agreement into practical mechanisms for faster intelligence flow, coordinated threat assessment and improved protection of correctional facilities, personnel and inmates.
