Carrying Water in a Basket: Challenges of Offenders’ Rehabilitation in Nigerian Correctional Facilities

Structural deficits, limited resources, and professional capacity constrain offenders’ rehabilitation in Nigerian correctional facilities. Despite policy commitments to reintegration, programs often operate symbolically, resembling “carrying water in a basket.” This qualitative study examined systemic barriers, lived experiences, and pathways to effective rehabilitation in a maximum-security facility in Southeast Nigeria. Guided by general systems theory, semi-structured interviews with eight inmates and four correctional staff were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: structural barriers, experiences of futility and aspiration, professional gaps, and pathways to sustainability. Persistent overcrowding, gendered exclusions, inconsistent programming, and absence of social workers limited outcomes.