Aisha* sat quietly in the crowded hall, her colourful hijab neatly around her face as a health expert spoke about the dangers of using unsafe materials during menstruation.
It was 28 May 2025, Menstrual Hygiene Day, and a coalition of civil society groups had visited the Suleja Correctional Facility in Niger State to educate inmates about safe menstrual practices.
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The hall, a simple structure with bare concrete floors and iron rods holding up a rusting roof, was filled with murmurs as Aisha raised her hand when the health expert paused to catch her breath.
“Please, how can I safely use cotton wool as a pad?” Aisha asked softly.
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At this point, the room went silent. The expert explained that cotton wool is not designed for menstruation and could cause infections or irritation.
“I used cotton wool and tissue paper to pad myself the first month I was brought here because there was no provision for menstrual pads,” Aisha later told The ICIR reporter, who was in the hall during the session.
“I’ve been here three months now, and I’ve never been given any pads,” she added.
Aisha is in her mid-twenties, and her experience reflects the sad reality faced by the 58 female inmates in the Suleja correctional facility at the time and hundreds more across Nigeria’s correctional centres, where menstruation is often treated as an afterthought.
A systemic gap
Like in many parts of the world, Nigerian prisons are plagued by inhumane conditions and severe overcrowding, resulting in poor health and deplorable living conditions for inmates.
Female prisoners make up about two per cent of the inmate population in Nigeria. However, the number of female inmates has risen in recent years.
In 2022, Nigeria had 1,296 female inmates out of a total of 70,797 prisoners. By January 2025, that number had risen to 1,688, including 34 pregnant women and 51 children under 18 months living with their mothers in custody.
However, the needs of these women are often overshadowed by the remaining 98 per cent, comprised of male inmates, the Centre for Gender Economics in Africa (CGE Africa) reported.
Advocates have raised concerns that women behind bars are forced to manage their periods without dignity, leaving them vulnerable to infections, humiliation, and systemic neglect.
A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that many female inmates in prisons across Nigeria have limited access to basic hygiene and health care products.
A cross-sectional study in Kano prisons found that 85.6 per cent of female inmates bathed only once during menstruation, while 81.4 per cent changed their absorbents just twice per day.
At Suleja, at least 10 female inmates who spoke to The ICIR confirmed that they depend entirely on donations from churches, mosques, and charity groups to stay clean during their periods.
Mariam*, who had been in the facility for months, recalled borrowing pads when she arrived. “I gave money to one of the prison staff who goes home after work to help me buy a pack of menstrual pads and bring it when resuming the next day,” Mariam recalled.
“I am grateful for programmes like this and for sisters from the convent who come here monthly to distribute pads.”
Jane*, another inmate, added, “I borrow from inmates, or call family to bring it when visiting, especially in the months when we don’t receive any donations.”
Other facilities included
In Lagos, a 2024 campaign by the Blossom Flow Foundation at the Kirikiri Female Custodial Centre found that some inmates used newspapers, nylons, and rags during menstruation.
Joan Faluyi, who led the initiative, said it served as a platform to advocate against period poverty, shedding light on the challenges women face in accessing sanitary pads.
Mrs Faluyi noted that this struggle is exacerbated for female inmates who lack the means to procure them. “While period poverty is a significant issue for women living with their families, it presents an even more daunting challenge for incarcerated women who are unable to work,” she said.
Felicia, a former inmate at the Plateau State Correctional Facility, recalled the same ordeal.
The mother of three said when she was wrongfully accused and detained at the correctional Facility in 2021, she and other inmates depended on occasional pad donations.
“We depended on kind Nigerians who donated pads. Without them, we used whatever we could find,” she said.
A correctional officer who requested anonymity confirmed this. “There’s no official provision for menstrual pads,” the source admitted. “The women depend entirely on donations.”
Millions in the budget, nothing for pads
The Nigerian government allocates billions of naira to correctional facilities each year, yet female inmates remain excluded from the benefits.
In the 2020/2021 capital budget, over N1 billion was allocated for Prison Biometrics, Arms, and Ammunition to detect, prevent, or respond effectively to internal and external threats.
The House of Representatives in 2022 resolved to investigate the deteriorating conditions of correctional service staff and inmates despite the over N165 billion budgetary allocations to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in 2020 and 2021.
The NCoS budget was not explicitly defined under the N287 billion allocated to the Ministry of Interior in 2022. Meanwhile, the federal government spent N22.44 billion to feed prison inmates in 2023.
In 2024, the government allocated approximately N120 billion to the NCoS, with breakdowns for different expenditures. The key allocations included N24.4 billion for feeding inmates, N4.2 billion for constructing fixed assets such as prisons, and N1.8 billion for building new maximum-security custodial centres.
The 2025 national budget earmarked N38.03 billion for feeding inmates, part of a total allocation of N45.2 billion for correctional services. The daily feeding allowance per inmate was also increased from ₦750 to ₦1,150.
However, nowhere in the budget is there a mention of sanitary pads or menstrual hygiene products.
Instead, such items are hidden under general provisions, such as “catering materials” or “healthcare supplies,” making it impossible to track specific spending on women’s needs.
Repeated attempts were made to contact the spokesperson of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Abubakar Umar, via WhatsApp, direct message, and calls, but they were unsuccessful.
The ICIR submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request on 14 May 2025, demanding records of procurement or contracts for sanitary pad supplies to correctional facilities nationwide.
Months later, no response was received — a violation of Section 4 (7) of the FOI Act, which requires institutions to respond within seven working days or explain their reason for withholding information.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) affirm that “the provision of health care for prisoners is a State responsibility.” However, the reality in Nigeria tells a different story.
Many women behind bars are denied access to even basic health care, including menstrual hygiene supplies, a direct contradiction of those international standards.
In 2019, the late President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigerian Correctional Service Bill into law, mandating that all inmates must be treated humanely as part of their rehabilitation.
Yet, more than five years later, implementation remains inconsistent, and the needs of female inmates continue to be overlooked.
Rights violations and health implications
The Plateau State Coordinator and Director of Legal, National Human Rights Commission, Kiyenpiya Mafuyai, stated that the Nigerian government, through the prison authorities, is primarily responsible for ensuring the menstrual care of female inmates.
“The accommodation of women prisoners shall have facilities and materials required to meet women’s specific hygiene needs, including sanitary towels provided free of charge and a regular supply of water to be made available for the personal care of children and women, in particular women involved in cooking and those who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or menstruating” Ms Mafuyai said, quoting Rule 5 of the UN Bangkok Rules.
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She explained that, based on the available rules and laws, denying adequate menstrual care can be seen as a violation of the female inmates’ right to dignity and the neglect of hygiene needs, which may affect health.
“Obviously, menstrual hygiene is an integral part of this for women. Neglect of this indicates a lack of gender representation in governance and leadership of Correctional Services. The neglect of menstrual hygiene could increase the vulnerability of female inmates,” she added.
The human rights lawyer noted the specific inclusion of the needs of inmates, such as medication and sanitary pads, in the prison authorities’ budget as one of the policy and administrative changes that can be made to improve menstrual care of inmates.
“Deliberate attention should be paid to hygiene facilities to ensure clean spaces, sufficient water, and proper disposal practices to prevent infection and promote good health. Inclusion of reusable pad making as a vocational skill in the correctional facility for the benefit of female inmates,” she said.
Meanwhile, a resident obstetrics and gynaecologist, Usman Isah, told the ICIR that the potential health risks of using unclean or damp cloths or infrequently changing pads during menstruation increase the risk of infection.
Mr Isah said the kind of infections or skin conditions that can arise from prolonged use of unhygienic menstrual materials include reproductive tract infection, urinary tract infection, increased risk of Human Papillomavirus Infection, and subsequently cervical cancer.
“When pads are unavailable, and women use damp or dirty materials, they create a breeding ground for bacteria,” he explained.
Aisha told the ICIR that she would use the pack she had received from the group that led the menstrual health lecture judiciously.
“I don’t change regularly because I don’t want to lack when I need it next month,” Aisha said.
For women like Aisha, the scarcity of pads means rationing even when they have them.
“I try not to change often,” she said quietly, clutching the small pack of pads she received from visiting NGOs. “I don’t know when I’ll get another one.”
Editor’s Note: Names with asterisks have been changed to protect the identities of the inmates interviewed for this report.
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