Nigerian prisoners’ experience: prison circumstances, family support and sleep quality

• Date: 18 October 2023
• Pages: 524-535
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-09-2021-0096
• Published date: 18 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice
• Author: Omokehinde Olubunmi Fakorede,Peter Olutunde Onifade,Oluyinka Emmanuel Majekodunmi,Adefunke Omosefe DadeMatthews

Nigerian prisoners’experience: prison

circumstances, family support and

sleep quality

Omokehinde Olubunmi Fakorede, Peter Olutunde Onifade,

Oluyinka Emmanuel Majekodunmi and Adefunke Omosefe DadeMatthews

Abstract

Purpose –This studyaims to determine the association betweenprison circumstances, perceivedfamily

supportand sleep quality among male inmates at the Ibara prison, OgunState.

Design/methodology/approach –It was a cross-sectional studyof 300 male inmates interviewed with

socio-demographicproforma and Pittsburghsleep quality index.

Findings –While all respondents described the prison as being overcrowded, half of them used

inappropriate sleeping materials daily and 41.4% decried a very noisy environment at night. Twenty-

seven percent of the respondents described poor family support while 47.3% experienced poor sleep

quality. Though nature of sleeping material and self-awareness of sleepproblem were associated with

poor sleepquality, no predictor of the latter was identified.

Research limitations/implications –The study was conducted among males only because of the

relative dominanceof the male gender in the prison population.This makes analysis of gender difference

impossible.Furthermore, sleep studies may be preferredover reports by some sleep experts.

Practical implications –Findings from thisstudy may culminate in taking steps to improvethe Nigerian

prison conditionsas well as the prisoner’s welfare.

Social implications –Developing support group for relatives of inmates may be a focus of social

interventionfor these inmates. Also, inmates with good sleep quality are likelyto partake effectively in the

prison reformationprogrammes and may not self-medicatewith sedatives.

Originality/value –This study provides a scholarly documentation of the state of Nigerian prisons;

inmates’ perceptionof family support; prevalence and correlates of poorsleep quality among a group of

male inmates.

Keywords Nigeria, Prison, Support

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Good sleeping materials (Troynikov et al.,2018), appropriate ventilation (Wargocki et al.,

2018), hygienic environment (Fung and Hon, 2019) and good diet (Theorell-Haglo

¨wet al.,

2019) have all been described as necessary requirements for good sleep. According to the

United Nations Standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, each prisoner is

expected to have a room to him/herself with separate bed, separate and sufficient clean

beddings issued at intervals; with lightning, ventilation, warmth and good sanitary facilities

factored in their accommodation (Bassiouni, 1985). However, the media has been flogged

with information about the despicable state of Nigerian prisons (Nigerian Prisons are Living

Hell jMuneer Yaqub, 2023) and journalists have described the prison environment as a

death sentence in itself (Deplorablestate of Nigerian prisons –Newtelegraph,2023). Stories

of inadequate beddings, overcrowding, poor sanitation, poor feeding and deadly noise in

Omokehinde Olubunmi

Fakorede is based at

Department of Mental

Health and Behavioural

Medicine, Federal Medical

Centre Abeokuta,

Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Peter Olutunde Onifade

and Oluyinka Emmanuel

Majekodunmi are both

based at Clinical Services,

Neuropsychiatric Hospital,

Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Adefunke Omosefe

DadeMatthews is based at

Clinical Services,

Neuropsychiatric Hospital,

Abeokuta, Nigeria and

Department of Human

Development and Family

Science, Auburn University,

Auburn, Alabama, USA.

Received 24 September 2021

Revised 21 April 2022

30 September 2022

Accepted 21 November 2022

The prisoners and staff at the

correctional facility where the

study was conducted are

gratefully acknowledged by the

authors.

Funding claims: The first

author’s personal funds were

used to pay for this effort. No

financial help or support was

given by anyone or any

organization.

PAGE 524 jINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH jVOL. 19 NO. 4 2023, pp. 524-535, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 DOI 10.1108/IJPH-09-2021-0096