Nigerians Paid Over ₦2.23 Trillion in Ransom Within a Year – NBS Report

A new report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigerians paid an estimated ₦2.23 trillion in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024, underscoring the alarming rise of criminal activities, particularly kidnapping, across the country.

The findings, contained in the NBS’s latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, highlighted that 65% of households affected by kidnappings paid ransoms to secure the release of their loved ones, with an average ransom of ₦2.67 million per case.

The report estimated that Nigerian households experienced approximately 51.89 million crime incidents during the 12-month period. The North-West region recorded 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 crime rate with 6.18 million incidents.

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Rural areas were more affected than urban areas, with 26.53 million crimes reported in rural households compared to 25.36 million in urban regions.

Low Reporting Rates and Public Confidence

Despite the severity of crimes like home robbery and kidnapping, reporting rates remain low. Only 36.3% of households affected by home robbery and an equally low percentage of kidnapping victims reported incidents to the police. Victims cited a lack of trust in law enforcement and doubts about the effectiveness of police intervention as reasons for not reporting crimes.

In terms of public safety perception, only 9.6% of Nigerians felt safe, with rural residents reporting higher fear levels (13%) compared to urban residents (7%).

Other Crime Insights

The survey also revealed:

• Phone theft was the most common crime, affecting 13.8% of Nigerians. While 90% of victims reported incidents to the police, only 50% expressed satisfaction with the response.
• Sexual offences affected an estimated 1.4 million Nigerians, but only 22.7% of victims reported these crimes to law enforcement.
• Many crimes occurred in private residences, further highlighting safety concerns at the household level.

Challenges with Security Responses

The effectiveness of Nigeria’s security agencies, particularly the police, came under scrutiny in the report. Only 33.1% of Nigerians said security agencies responded to emergencies within 30 minutes. Rural areas relied more on vigilante groups, which were often seen as more reliable than formal security agencies.

The findings shed light on the growing challenges of insecurity and the urgent need for reforms to rebuild trust in law enforcement, enhance the capacity of security agencies, and address the root causes of crime.

As Nigerians continue to grapple with these challenges, the report serves as a wake-up call for authorities to take decisive action to improve public safety and restore confidence in the country’s security framework.

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