Agba Jalingo: Drugs, Sex, and Corruption Rife in Nigerian Prisons

Nigerian journalist and activist, Agba Jalingo, has painted a grim picture of detention centres across the country, alleging that drugs, sex, and other illicit activities thrive behind bars for those who can pay.

Speaking on Perspectives, an Arise TV programme where he appeared alongside Media Room Hub publisher Azuka Ogujiuba, Jalingo recounted harrowing details of his multiple arrests and time in detention.

Ogujiuba, recently held for three days in Abuja over a story she published, described her police cell as “horrible, smelly, and unfit for humans,” adding that the experience left her traumatised.

Jalingo, who has faced several politically motivated arrests during the tenure of former Cross River governor Ben Ayade, said the police system has become a tool for intimidation:

“This IGP has elevated impunity to a shocking level. The police are now used for renters. If you have money and anyone harasses you, just pay them and they’re off to drag that person anywhere.”

He recalled being bundled from Lagos to Calabar in the boot of a vehicle for 26 hours, detained for 43 days at an anti-cultism unit, and later imprisoned for six months on trumped-up charges.

On the state of Nigerian prisons, Jalingo alleged that money dictates survival:

“Most detainees are innocent. In every prison, you must pay warders to see relatives. With the right amount of money, people in jail live large—they have phones, drugs, even sex. The only things I never saw were human parts and guns.”

He argued that the Cybercrime Act, particularly Section 24, has become a weapon against journalists and social media dissenters, insisting that defamation should remain a civil matter.

Both journalists criticised weak press unions, saying the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has failed to protect members against unlawful arrests and the wider intimidation of the press.