A forensic audit of the Nigerian Correctional Service’s payment records has uncovered a sprawling financial racket involving the systematic disbursement of billions of naira to non-existent or inactive corporate entities. The findings highlight a troubling pattern of fiscal irregularities that persisted throughout 2025 and well into 2026, all occurring under the leadership of the current Controller-General, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche.
The audit reveals that between February and June 2026 alone, the Service bypassed standard payroll channels to make 132 payments totaling over N2.9 billion. Of this amount, the vast majority—roughly N2.66 billion—was earmarked for “ration payments.” Disturbingly, these funds were funneled to vendors whose corporate statuses are either listed as “inactive” by the Corporate Affairs Commission or cannot be located on the commission’s official register entirely.
This trend of questionable spending traces back to the government’s 2024 decision to increase inmate feeding rates from N750 to N1,125 per day. While the policy was intended to improve conditions, the implementation was fraught with delays, leading to an estimated N30.7 billion in outstanding arrears. By late 2025, the Service rushed to clear these backlogs through 40 bulk top-up payments. On December 30, 2025, for instance, the Service issued five identical payments of N67.9 million on a single day, a maneuver that appears to contravene the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007, which mandates orderly and rule-bound public expenditure.
The pattern of engaging “ghost” or inactive contractors continued unabated into 2026. Companies such as Mosco Soa Nig. Ltd., Baggio Brothers and Company, and Blue Trust Construction Ltd—a construction firm inexplicably paid to provide food—received hundreds of millions of naira despite their non-compliant status with regulatory bodies. In other instances, the Service used outdated descriptions, such as paying for 2025 expenses in 2026, or employing “splitting” tactics to circumvent procurement laws. By dividing large payments into smaller amounts, officials effectively bypassed the approval threshold of N25 million, a practice explicitly criminalized under Section 58(4)(d) of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
The administrative mismanagement is further underscored by the discrepancy between official claims and financial reality. When Controller-General Nwakuche appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions in February 2026, he cited significant outstanding food-ration liabilities. Yet, subsequent payment records indicate that funds continued to flow to the same questionable vendor ecosystem identified in previous years.
These systemic failures were echoed in the March 2026 report by the Independent Investigative Panel on Allegations of Corruption and Gross Violations Against the Nigerian Correctional Service. Chaired by Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the panel concluded that many of the entities awarded feeding contracts served as fronts for senior correctional officers, politicians, and their associates. Investigators reported that these contractors often subcontracted the actual feeding to custodial officers at rates as low as N460 per inmate, leading to diluted rations and contracts inflated by up to 50 percent above market value.
The panel’s findings suggest a pervasive culture of embezzlement, including the diversion of welfare funds to the Office of the Controller-General. With the panel recommending that cases of criminal conduct be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies, the pressure is mounting for a thorough investigation into the financial activities of the Correctional Service during the Nwakuche tenure.
Source: NaijaProbe