An investigation by The Guardian has revealed that inmates awaiting trial at the Minna Old Custodial Centre are transported to court in tricycles, commonly known as Keke NAPEP, and commercial vehicles due to a lack of operational green Black Maria vehicles. It was discovered that the only two functional green Black Maria vehicles have remained broken down for the past two years without repair.
Chief Judge intervenes with water tanker tyres
Additionally, the Chief Judge of Niger State, Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik, purchased four tyres for the only functioning water tanker at the Minna Old Medium Security Custodial Centre in March 2026. Sources said the tanker had been out of use for three years and was propped up on stones due to lack of tyres. As a result, inmates had been fetching water from public boreholes in Minna until the Chief Judge intervened by providing the tyres. However, the only functioning borehole in the Medium Security Custodial Centre dried up around the same time the tanker lost its tyres.
Consequences of vehicle breakdown
Consequently, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Niger State parked the vehicle, leading to the use of tricycles and other means to transport inmates to court. Findings further showed that former governor of Niger State, now Senator Abubakar Sani Bello, purchased two green Black Maria vehicles for correctional centres in 2016. Investigations revealed that the now grounded vehicle had been the only functional means of transporting awaiting-trial inmates to more than 35 courts within and outside Minna, the state capital.
“We are in a serious mess since the green maria parked up. We have to convey them to court with alternative means of transporting the inmates to courts within Minna. In fact, we have no option. They have to be in court and we have to find any alternative means of conveying them to court. At times we have to engage the service of tricycle operators to convey them to court,” a source close to one of the facilities in Minna, who craved anonymity not to be mentioned in print, said.
It was also gathered that inmates are now conveyed to court using the only available official ambulance, which is ordinarily meant to transport patients to hospital, in place of the green Black Maria vehicles. The spokesperson for the Niger State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Rabiu Shuaibu Mohammed, confirmed the situation and appealed to individuals and corporate organisations in the state to donate functional green Black Maria vehicles to ensure the safe movement of inmates to court.
