Of the estimated 75,000 people currently incarcerated in Nigeria, mental health professionals estimate that between 30–40% suffer from diagnosable mental health conditions — most of them untreated.

The causes are multiple and compounding: trauma prior to incarceration, the psychological toll of overcrowded and violent facilities, separation from family, and the corrosive uncertainty of indefinite pre-trial detention.

“I have seen men lose their minds in here,” one inmate told our counseling team. “People who came in normal and are now talking to walls. Nobody checks on them. Nobody asks if they are okay.”

Our mental health program places certified psychosocial counselors inside correctional facilities for weekly group and individual sessions. We focus on trauma processing, coping strategies, anger management, and family reconciliation.

Last year, our counselors conducted 4,200 individual sessions and facilitated 860 group therapy circles. Referrals for acute psychiatric care resulted in 94 inmates receiving medication and specialist treatment they would otherwise never have accessed.

Mental health is not separate from the mission of rehabilitation. It is the foundation of it. A man who cannot process his trauma cannot build a new life. We are committed to changing that.