Two inmates have died after a laboratory-confirmed cholera outbreak inside Kano’s Kurmawa Custodial Centre, bringing inmate health and conditions in Nigeria’s correctional facilities back under scrutiny.
The Nigerian Correctional Service has confirmed the deaths of two inmates following a cholera outbreak at the Kurmawa Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kano State.
The outbreak was confirmed by laboratory testing on September 23 following investigations conducted by the Service’s medical team in collaboration with Kano State public health authorities.
According to the NCoS, the first suspected case was detected on September 17 after an inmate developed vomiting and diarrhoea.
The inmate was admitted to the custodial centre’s medical facility and emergency health measures were subsequently activated.
The Service said two deaths were eventually recorded — one inside the custodial centre and another at the Kano State Infectious Diseases Hospital.
NCoS said the outbreak has since been brought under control and that no additional deaths had been recorded following the confirmed diagnosis.
Controller-General of Corrections Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche has directed senior medical personnel from the Service’s National Headquarters to proceed to Kano for continued monitoring.
Additional preventive measures and disease surveillance have also been introduced in collaboration with the Kano State Government.
The incident nevertheless raises renewed questions about public health management within custodial facilities, where overcrowding, sanitation and access to prompt medical attention can turn communicable diseases into particularly serious risks.
The Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 places responsibility on the correctional system not only for safe custody but also for the welfare and humane treatment of persons held in its facilities.
NCoS maintains that qualified medical personnel remain available to inmates and that measures are being strengthened to prevent another outbreak.
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Source: PUNCH
