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THE PSYCO – SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF HIV/AIDS TRANSMISSION IN 

NIGERIAN PRISON 

 

                                                                      By 

OKECHUKWU, GROUPSON-PAUL UC. PhD 

groupsonpaul@yahoo.com, okechukwu.groupson@funai.edu.ng 

Department of Political Science 

Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), 

Abakaliki – Ebonyi State, Nigeria, 

 

OKECHUKWU, IBIAM EGWU PhD 

okeyibiamegwu@gmail.com 

Department of Political Science 

Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (AEFUNAI) 

Abakaliki – Ebonyi State, Nigeria, 

 

AYODEJI O.ADEDEJI 

adeayo2000s@yahoo.com             

Department of Political Science 

Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), 

Abakaliki – Ebonyi State, Nigeria, 

 

ONYEJEGBU EMEKA DOMINIC 

divinemercy_f@yahoo.com 

Department of Political Science 

University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), 

Enugu State, Nigeria 

 

Chibuike Emmanuel Madubuegwu 

Department of Political Science 

Nnamdi Azikwe University Awka, Anambra State. 

 

OKECHUKWU, PRISCA CHINYERE 

Prispella Medical Diagnositic Consultant 

Emene, Enugu Nigeria 

 

Abstract  

The scourge of HIV/AIDS disease has remained an endemic plague among prison 

inmates in Nigeria over the years, owing to the unrestrained and unwarranted sexually 

related abuses among prison inmates and the administrative laxity on the part of officials 

charged with correctional services among the inmates. Also, governments at all levels 

mailto:groupsonpaul@yahoo.com
mailto:okechukwu.groupson@funai.edu.ng
mailto:divinemercy_f@yahoo.com


 

 

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have failed to decongest prisons amidst the failure of the prison managers to control the 

spread of this deadly disease. This study interrogated the psycho-social implications of 

HIV/AIDS transmission among inmates of in Enugu and Awka correctional centers. To 

achieve this objective the study utilized both primary and secondary data. Primary data 

was obtained through interviews and questionnaires administered on the prison 

managers and prison inmates as respondents. Secondary data were generated from 

academic journals, internet materials, official documents from the Nigerian prisons as 

well as other archival materials. This study raised some problematic in areas of: What 

measures have governments put in place to tackle the spread of HIV/AIDS and other 

related abuses in Nigerian prisons? What are the challenges been face by the government 

towards decongesting prisons? What are the psycho-social practices that are prevalent 

among prison inmates? This paper sought for answers to these questions in relation to 

the various psycho-social practices among these inmates. The findings revealed a high 

prevalence of sexually related immoral acts through which HIV/AIDs has been spreading 

in prisons. It also exposed the contour of official complicity in encouraging the use of 

illicit drugs, diversion of allocations of funds and materials meant for inmates. The study 

explicates the negative trend that disposes the inmates to criminal practices which 

generally impact on the system adversely. The study thereby suggests the introduction of 

effective administrative inquiries and reforms in these prisons; the government should 

enthronement modern inmates’ correctional practices that de-emphasize inmates’ 

institutionalization through probation services to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in 

prisons.   

 

INTRODUCTION 

Human civilization is probably passing through a most critical moment of this 

millennium while its existence is being challenged by the surfacing of strange illnesses 

among which is HIV/AIDS. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the 

virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, if not treated. The 

HIV/AIDs outbreak has been declared an international public health emergency by the 

World Health Organization (WHO). The HIV and AIDS epidemic remains one of the 

greatest health and growth challenges of our time. The number of adults acquiring HIV 

each year has not declined considerably over the past ten years. The epidemic keeps 

claiming more than one million lives each year. Nigeria Country Report, (2018).  

 

Prisoners are key populations for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 

Penal institutions all over the world anxious about the fast and uncontrolled distribution 

of HIV in prisons due to many specific risk factors, including availability of illegal drugs 

in prisons despite the sustained efforts of prison systems to prevent it, consensual and 

non-consensual sex  occurrences in prisons, no withstanding laws or policies prohibiting 

sex in the prison, sharing of  tattooing equipment by prisoners.. According to Bamigbose 

(2010), other risk factors like -Body piercing, Sharing of razor blades, Exposure to 



 

 

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human blood and body fluids through fights, assaults, and accidents also occur in the 

prisons.  The disease remained pervasive in cramped, poorly ventilated prison facilities, 

which had chronic shortages of medical supplies as is the case in Nigeria prison. 

Inadequate medical treatment and bad living conditions caused many people in prisons 

to die from treatable illnesses such as HIV and AIDS. Factors related to the prison 

infrastructure, prison management and the criminal justice system also contribute to the 

increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and other health risks in prisons.  

 

A report of people in prisons’ mortality in Nigerian prisons from 2007 to 2019 put the 

figure of deaths at 1066 persons out of which 85 are AIDS-related deaths. Prison 

Statistics.(2019).  This high HIV prevalence has a health and psycho-social impact not 

only to the people in prisons but also those who manage them. 

 

The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the welfare of every 

citizen of the country. Apart from this, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rule for 

the Treatment of Offenders (UNSMR) emphasized the welfare of prisoners in its section 

20 (1) & (20). The rationale behind these provisions are meant to ensure that ex-prisoners 

are able to return to the society as rehabilitated individuals who will be able to live a 

normal life and contribute to national development. However, the above mentioned 

provisions and similar ones only remain a document in the country and not the practice. 

On May 29, 2014, Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State was reported to have broken 

into tears at the pitiable sight of inmates at Oba Prison in Abeokuta (Sun Newspapers, 

May 2014).  

 

The Enugu prison, found in the heart of the coal city, were established in 1915.  The 

prison from inception have a grave management problem due to the fact that out of the 

638 spaces meant for the inmate, that it was overrun by 1,800 inmates who were faced 

on the environment with the issue of congestion at first instance. (premium times, 2016). 

A problem, Uchenwa (2016) observed that underage inmates were kept with much older 

and hardened criminals.  The institution for Juveniles at Hill-top, Ngwo are no longer 

maintained thereby forcing the weak to be at the mercy of the strong. As weighty as this 

revelation is, the available or known policies for manning prison and rehabilitating 

minors are not operational. To accentuate this observation further, it was noted that the 

jail do not offer appropriate HIV treatment due to poor policies managements, among 

other abnormalities, in the handling of prisoners is a pointer to the fact that the rate of 

HIV/AIDS among prison inmates might be in ratio of 5 is to 7 times compared to the 

general population. In 2010 alone, it was generally observed that 20,000 people living 

with HIV/AIDS were held in states and federal prisons in Nigeria notwithstanding the 

poor environmental condition prevalence there in.  

 



 

 

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This unpredictable, fast spreading infectious disease has been causing universal 

awareness, anxiety and distress, all of which according to Bamigbose (2010) are natural 

psychological responses to the randomly changing condition. Most patients with serious, 

progressive illness face a range of psychological challenges, including the prospect of 

real and anticipated losses, worsening quality of life, the fear of physical decline and 

death, and coping with uncertainty, they are often reluctant to mention mood problems 

to their physicians. Also, depressive symptoms, such as fatigue or loss of appetite, can 

be attributable to HIV infection or medications. Some researchers are of the view that 

female prisoners suffer more psychological trauma than their male counterpart. Because 

of the risk of transmission, major and permanent changes are called for in sexual behavior 

and management of substance use, neither of which may be easily modifiable in the 

reality of Nigerian prison.  

 

This study is set to determine the various ways in which HIV/AIDS epidemic have 

impacted the prisoners’ mental health. Based on this background, the researcher is set to 

evaluate the relevant psychosocial consequences or implication of HIV/AIDS 

transmission in Nigeria prison.  

 

Stigma as defined by Jombo (2016) as the presence of an undesirable or discrediting 

feature that an individual possesses which may lessen the status of an individual from a 

societal point of view. Stigma is a one of the psychosocial impacts of HIV/AIDS. It links 

a person to an undesirable stereotype, leading others to reduce the bearer from a whole 

and usual person to a tainted, discounted one.  In the prison setting, a stigmatized patient 

is prone to seek medical care late and hide important medical history.  This behavior, in 

sequence, increases the risk of disease transmission. Health crime as a result of the fear 

of being HIV positive has also been reported in the prisons, Orakwe, (2012). The WHO 

issued specific psychosocial considerations for abating the growing stigma of 

HIV/AIDS.   

 

The pains of the weak and suppression by the strong among inmates makes the exposure 

and tackling of the ills/vices difficult in the prison. The prison is a vertically structured 

community consisting of three social classes resulting from physical violence and 

suppression among inmates: (1) the physically strong ones who are able to suppress 

others; (2) those who are respected; and (3) those who are suppressed. Also underage 

inmates were kept with much older and hardened criminals. There is the need for 

government to put appropriate measures in place to fix these conditions, in other to abate 

the resultant psychosocial implication on the prison inmate. Uchenwa (2016) 

 

Prison managers turned blind eyes to the ills/vices going on in the prison. The prison 

services are, therefore, being blamed for the growth of criminal gangs in jails.   There is 

no clear strategy for dealing with criminal gangs in prison, or adequate assessment of the 



 

 

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danger prisoners pose, worsening the case of HIV/AIDs prison inmate. The Journal.ie 

(2019). This results in the prisoners being abused by fellow inmates without any one to 

report to.  This prison management attitude to work should be tackled in line with the 

behavioral reformation objective of keeping criminals in prison. 

 

Gender psychosocial implication of HIV/AIDS prisoners transmission is not clear. Some 

researchers are of the view that a female HIV infected person are more strongly 

stigmatized and exposed than their male counterparts because of a sterotype in African 

society, that a woman who insists on use of condom during sexual intercourse is 

promiscuous, only men can.  But other studies say that male and female are stigmatized 

equally since the both experience the same condition in the prison confinement. 

 

According to a report by PRAWA, vice president Yemi Osinbajo lamented  over the 

deplorable state of the country’s prison and enouncement of the savage  treatment of 

inmates is a remark that must be taken seriously if Nigerians have some regard for the 

overall health of the society. At an official presentation of Nigerian Prisons survey report 

in Abuja,  he said that there is no room for prisoners and anybody who goes into that 

place as a human being coming out as an animal. PRAWA (2018).  

 

Literature search revealed insufficient research reports on the psycho-social 

consequences of HIV/AID in prison inmates Odekunle, (2007). More so, the few studies 

on impact of HIV/AID on prison inmates in Nigeria are inconclusive on whether gender 

has any relevance on the nature of psycho-social implication suffered in the Nigerian 

prison and calls for further investigation. This study intends to fill this gap by 

contributing to the existing discussions.  

 

Research problem 

Nigeria has a high HIV epidemic in the world, NACA (2017), and the prison population 

is at high risk of HIV and AIDs transmission.  This is so because infection with this virus 

can occur as a result high rate of vulnerable behaviors that occur on daily basis, therein. 

According to Onuigwe, (2018), these unhealthy behaviors account for around 32% of 

new HIV infections in Nigeria.  

 

Most people infected with HIV and aids in the prison struggle with psycho-social 

problems such as Stigma, suppression, negligence, guilt, isolation, distress, fear of 

rejection, depression and psychiatric disorder, shock and  Hopelessness among others. 

 

There appears to be paucity of research evidence available to the researcher on the 

psycho-social factors that affects the prison inmates in Nigeria. There is also no 

consensus on whether gender has any relevance on the nature of psycho-social 

implication suffered in the Nigerian prison. 



 

 

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The question therefore is “what is the psycho-social implication of HIV/AIDs 

transmission in Nigeria prison ? 

Purpose of the Study 

The main purpose of the study was to find out the psycho – social implications of 

HIV/AIDS transmission in Nigerian prison.  Specifically, the study tried to determine the 

Psycho social implication of HIV/AIDS Transmission in Enugu prison and the  

association between gender and Psycho-Social Implication of HIV/AIDS Transmission 

in prisons. 

  

Research Hypotheses 

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. 

Ho1: There is no Psycho-social implication of HIV/AIDs Transmission in prisons  

Ho2:  There is no association between gender and prisoners' Psycho-social implication 

of  HIV/AIDS Transmission. 

 

Methodology 

The design for this study is the case study research design.  The study was carried out in 

Enugu Prison Nigeria. The population for the study comprised of 227 respondents, made 

up of 115 males and 112 females all of whom are prisoners in Enugu Prison. The entire 

population was used as the number was within manageable size.  The instrument used 

for data collection was the Psyco–Social Implications of HIV/AIDS Transmission in 

Nigerian Prison, (PIHT). The questionnaire was a four point likert scale.  Respondents 

were required to tick () the option that best expresses their views about the statement 

made.  Values of 4,3,2,and 1 were attached to SA, A, D, and SD, respectively. The Chi-

Square statistic was used to test hypotheses.  The hypotheses with negative Correlation 

Coefficient (v) were rejected, while those with positive Correlation (v) were accepted.   

 

Results 

Ho1: There is no Psycho-social implication of HIV/AIDs Transmission in Enugu prison. 

Table1: Psycho-social implication of HIV/AIDs Transmission in Enugu prison. 

 

Chi-Square Tests 

 Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 

Pearson Chi-Square 672.000a 9 .000 

Likelihood Ratio 578.046 9 .000 

Linear-by-Linear 

Association 
223.000 1 .000 

N of Valid Cases 224   



 

 

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a. 1 cells (6.2%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 

4.02. 

  

Table 1  shows that the calculated p-value is less than our chosen significance level (α 

= 0.05).   The  null  hypothesis  is therefore rejected. There are psycho-social 

implications of HIV/AIDs Transmission in prison prisons in Nigeria.  This was so 

because Χ2(9)< = 672.000, p = 0.000. 

 

 

 
 

Ho2:  There is no association between gender and prisoners' Psycho-social 

 implication of  HIV/AIDS  Transmission. 

Table 2: Prisoners' Psycho-social implication of  HIV/AIDS  Transmission by 

gender 

 

Chi-Square Tests 

 Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 

Pearson Chi-Square .616a 3 .893 

Likelihood Ratio .618 3 .892 

Linear-by-Linear 

Association 
.037 1 .848 

N of Valid Cases 224   



 

 

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a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count 

is 15.00. 

 

Table 2 shows that the calculated p-value is greater than our chosen significance level (α 

= 0.05).   The null  hypothesis  is therefore not rejected. There is no association between 

gender and psycho-social implications of HIV/AIDs Transmission in prison prisons in 

Nigeria.  This was so because Χ2(9)> = 0.616, p = 0.893. 

 
 

 

Findings 

Based on the analysis of data as presented in this study, the following major findings 

were made: 

There are psycho-social implications of HIV/AIDs Transmission in prison prisons in 

Nigeria. There is no association between gender and psycho-social implications of 

HIV/AIDs Transmission in prison prisons in Nigeria 

 

Discussions of findings 

Table 1 revealed that there is psycho-social implications of HIV/AIDs Transmission in 

prisons in Nigeria. This findings is in line with earlier findings of Bamigbose (2010), 

who stated that the prisoners encounter anxiety and depression, which are natural 

psychological responses to the randomly changing condition.  The findings of this study 

corresponds also with the  findings of  Goffman (2010), Orakwe,  (2012). Uchennwa 

(2016). They  all  found that the prisoners suffer serious personality degradation as a 

result of abuses and inappropriate environmental condition prevalence in Nigeria prison. 

 



 

 

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The result of the findings in table 2 shows that there is no association between gender 

and psycho-social implications of HIV/AIDs Transmission in prisons in Nigeria.  The 

result of the present study contradicts an earlier study by Taiwo (2015), who found out 

gender sterotype, sexual assertiveness and health locus of control were significant 

predictors of perceived vulnerability of female HIV patient prisoners. On the other hand, 

the finding of Abah (2014), agrees with the findings of the present study, he found out 

that both male and female are equally stigmatized. 

 

Conclusions 

The results of this study have clearly indicated that psychosocial implications are 

suffered by prisoners who are infected with HIV/AIDS. Also the study suggest that 

inmate of Nigeria prisons are composed of male and female and did not find any 

association between  gender and psycho-social implication of HIV/AID. Both male and 

female are equally affected. 

 

Recommendations 

Generally, the neglect of the prison population may be a reflection of the penal policy of 

the country, which emphasizes punishment and retribution at the expense of reformation 

and rehabilitation of offenders. If the nation must meet the Millennium Development 

Goal of eradicating HIV/AIDS and the stigma that is associated with it, then the penal 

philosophy, which guarantee the well-being of inmates in line with global developments 

must be put in place. When inmates in various prisons are not condemned and ostracized 

but are seen as part of the society.  Even though our findings did not associate gender 

with psychosocial impact of HIV/AIDS, more inclusive study to ascertain the influence 

of gender factors as well as design of gender sensitivity programme is required in Nigeria 

prisons. It has become more imperative now, that Nigeria is among the 5 significant 

nations in the world that require attention to stem the next global wave of 

HIV/AIDS.USNIC (2012). 

 

References  

Abah RC (2014), The implications of HIV prevalence trend in Nigeria. Journal of Public 

Health in Africa  5: 19-22. 

Bamigbose, O. A. (2010): The Sentence, the sentence, and the sentenced: towards prison 

reform in nigeria. Ibadan University Press. Ibadan. 

CDC. Rockville, MD: U.S Department of Health and Human Services; 2007. HIV/AIDS 

surveillance report, 2005. 

Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled  ldentity. Englewood 

Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.  

Hellard and Aitken, (2014). The prevalence and the risk behaviors associated with the 

transmission of  HIV/AIDS virus in Africa  correctional facilities. Epid & Inf; 

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www.ilo.org.  accessed march,2017. 

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