Concerned staff of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) have raised alarm over what they described as entrenched corruption within the system, warning that the rot is a “time bomb” that could consume the country if not urgently addressed.

In an open letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and signed under the name Concerned Staff of Correctional Centers, the officers accused administrators of training institutions of extorting participants, allegedly demanding as much as ₦350,000 from officers before releasing their certificates of attendance after completing courses.

The letter also alleged widespread fraud within the Service’s cooperative society, with staff salaries subjected to unexplained deductions. The officers claimed the cooperative—originally set up to provide financial relief—has been hijacked by senior officials who have turned it into a “cash cow” at the expense of junior staff.

“It’s disheartening and a thing of surprise that our revered training institutions that are supposed to train officers saddled with the responsibility to correct inmates, rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society as reformed individuals are rather training staff who will turn out to be more corrupt,” the letter stated.

The group accused the Controller-General of the Service of turning a blind eye to the corruption network, despite issuing circulars prohibiting such practices. They alleged that officers unable to pay the illegal training fees are often summoned to Abuja for punishment.

The letter further highlighted the dire conditions of correctional centers such as Makurdi Prison, which reportedly lacks a completed perimeter wall, has no functional vehicles to convey inmates to court, and suffers from poor feeding conditions that have forced inmates to cook inside their cells.

The officers lamented that staff are forced to buy their own uniforms, pay for transfers, fund inmate transportation, and endure unexplained deductions from salaries — with many taking home less than 45 percent of their pay.

“Mr. President, are we not federal staff worth fighting for? Why are we left to suffer more? Why is no one talking about us? We die in silence for fear of being molested and frustrated for raising our voices,” the officers wrote.

They warned that the unchecked corruption and neglect of staff welfare could trigger unrest within the correctional system if urgent reforms are not undertaken.

“Sir, we plead that you will come to our rescue before this degenerates to what could have been avoided,” the letter concluded.