The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that households in Nigeria paid a staggering N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024.
This alarming figure underscores the growing impact of criminal activities in the country. According to the NBS’s Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents were reported across Nigerian households during the period under review.
The report highlighted regional disparities in crime rates, with the North-West recording the highest number of incidents at 14.4 million, followed by the North-Central with 8.8 million cases. The South-East reported the lowest figure at 6.18 million.
Rural communities appeared to bear the brunt of criminal activities, with 26.53 million incidents occurring in rural areas compared to 25.36 million in urban areas.
Kidnapping was identified as a particularly severe threat, affecting 4.14 million households. Of these, 65% reported paying ransom to secure the release of victims, with an average payment of N2.67 million. This brought the total ransom paid during the 12-month period to N2.23 trillion.
Despite the prevalence of these crimes, the reporting rate remains low. Only 36.3% of households affected by home robberies and a similarly small proportion of kidnapping victims reported their cases to the police. The report cited lack of confidence in law enforcement and skepticism about meaningful outcomes as major reasons for this trend.
The NBS report also revealed that individual-level crimes were widespread, with phone theft being the most common, affecting 13.8% of the population. While 90% of phone theft victims reported the incidents, only half expressed satisfaction with police responses.
Additionally, an estimated 1.4 million Nigerians were victims of sexual offences, most of which occurred in private residences. However, only 22.7% of these incidents were reported to law enforcement.
Public confidence in safety remains low, with only 9.6% of Nigerians feeling secure against crime in the coming year. Rural residents expressed greater fear of crime than their urban counterparts, with 13% versus 7%, respectively, believing they were at risk.
The report also highlighted challenges faced by Nigeria’s security agencies. Only 33.1% of emergency calls were responded to within 30 minutes. Rural areas increasingly relied on local vigilante groups, which were perceived as more dependable than formal security agencies in addressing issues such as livestock and crop theft.
This report, based on data shared by the NBS and published by Punch Newspaper, underscores the deepening security challenges in Nigeria and the urgent need for effective measures to address them.
