The Controller General (CG) of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Mr Sylvester Nwakuche, has appealed to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to include inmates in its health insurance scheme.
Nwakuche made the appeal on Monday in Abuja during a courtesy visit to the Director-General of NHIA, Dr Kelechi Ohiri.
Nwakuche said that the idea was to address persistent healthcare challenges and prevent avoidable deaths among inmates.
He said inmates as captives and underserved population deserve access to quality healthcare as legitimate citizens in the country.
The CG noted that the visit coincided with his one year in office, having been appointed in acting capacity by President Bola Tinubu, on Dec. 15, 2024.
This, he said, followed the retirement of his predecessor, adding that his appointment was later confirmed by the Senate in April as substantive Controller-General.
He stressed that the change in the CG’s name goes beyond nomenclature to reflect genuine correction, rehabilitation and welfare of both inmates and staff.
“In pursuing this mandate, I have paid visits to several agencies that directly and positively impact our Service, and the NHIA is a critical one. Although engagements had been discussed previously, official duties delayed the visit until now,” he said.
Nwakuche disclosed that the NCoS currently had about 81,000 inmates spread across over 250 custodial facilities nationwide, including women, persons living with disabilities and babies born within custodial centres.
He also stressed that inmates remained citizens of Nigeria and should not be excluded from national social protection programmes, particularly health insurance.
“One of our major challenges is access to healthcare.
“Often, when inmates are taken to hospitals, treatment is delayed because hospitals demand upfront payment before services can commence, and this has led to unfortunate fatalities,” he said.
The CG said his visit was to plead, urge and formally request that inmates be captured under NHIA’s operational framework.
This, he said, was whether as part of the vulnerable groups or any suitable insurance package, to ensure seamless access to healthcare through Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs).
“I am not a technical person in your space. I don’t know how it will be done, but these are my challenges and problems.
“These people are vulnerable because they do not have access to what those in the free world can easily access,” he said.
He appealed to NHIA’s management to technically examine ways of integrating inmates into its programmes to cater for their medical needs and restore hope to those in custody.
Nwakuche also highlighted ongoing efforts to integrate inmates into other national systems, revealing that the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had agreed to commence the capture of inmates under the National Identification Number (NIN) scheme.
“If you don’t capture them and you only plan with people outside, when they are discharged, they distort the programmes already designed,” he said.
He disclosed that he had engaged the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the need to allow inmates to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
He noted that over 60 to 70 per cent of inmates were Awaiting Trial Persons presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
“When they are discharged or acquitted and come out, they are disenfranchised if they were not registered. They saw reason with us,” he said.
The CG added that he also plans to engage the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) to extend national data capture into custodial facilities, describing correctional centres as “a different world but still part of the same national agenda.”
Responding, the NHIA DG, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, pledged the agency’s commitment to work with the NCoS to ensure that inmates across the country were fully covered under the national health insurance framework.
Ohiri explained that the NHIA was established in 2022 following the enactment of the National Health Insurance Act, marking a significant shift from the former National Health Insurance Scheme, which largely focused on the public sector and selected population groups.
“The 2022 Act introduced a major policy change by expanding NHIA’s mandate beyond service provision to include the promotion and regulation of health insurance schemes across the country.
“The present administration remains strongly committed to achieving universal health coverage for all Nigerians, with equity as a core principle.
“Equity is extremely important to us, and that is why we are very deliberate about populations that are affected and underserved,” he said.
Ohiri identified inmates as a vulnerable population and assured that NHIA would work closely with NCoS to develop a clear and workable framework to ensure their inclusion in the health insurance system.
He disclosed that both organisations would constitute joint teams to begin work on the collaboration immediately, with the goal of commencing implementation early in the new year.
“My team and your team will work together to put together a framework for ensuring that inmates in Nigeria are covered for their health needs,” he said.
“We are delighted and we look forward to this partnership. We will provide the support that we can,” he said.
