Kehinde Fajobi
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigerians paid a staggering ₦2.23tn as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024.
This finding is part of the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report, which highlighted the growing prevalence of crime across the country.
The report estimated that Nigerian households experienced 51.89 million crime incidents during the period.
The North-West recorded the highest crime rate with 14.4 million incidents, followed by the North-Central with 8.8 million cases. The South-East had the lowest reported crime incidents at 6.18 million.
Rural areas were more affected than urban centres, with 26.5 million crimes recorded in rural households compared to 25.3 million in urban areas.
The NBS further revealed that kidnapping remains a severe threat, with 65 per cent of affected households paying ransoms to secure victims’ release.
The average ransom payment stood at ₦2.67m, adding up to a total of ₦2.23tn within the 12 months.
The report stated, “Nationally, an estimated 51,887,032 crime incidences were experienced by households. The North-West (14,402,254) reported the highest incidences of crime at the household level, followed by the North-Central (8,771,400), while the South-East (6,176,031) reported the least.
“The result also shows that the crime incidence in the rural area (26,526,069) was higher than that of the urban area (25,360,963).
“In Nigeria, 4,142,174 households experienced home robbery. Less than half (36.3 per cent) of the households who were victims of home robbery reported their experience to the police.
“Among households that experienced kidnapping incidents, 65.0 per cent paid a ransom.
“The average amount paid as ransom was ₦2,670,693, with an estimated total ransom of ₦2,231,772,563,507 paid within the reference period.”
The survey also highlighted low reporting rates for crimes. Only 36.3 per cent of households affected by home robbery informed the police, largely due to a lack of confidence in law enforcement.
At the individual level, 21.4 per cent of Nigerians were victims of crimes, with phone theft being the most prevalent, affecting 13.8 per cent of individuals.
Notably, 90 per cent of phone theft victims reported the incidents to the police, but only half expressed satisfaction with the response.
Sexual offences were also significant, with 1.4 million Nigerians reported as victims. Most incidents occurred either in the victim’s home or someone else’s residence.
Only 22.7 per cent of victims reported the offences to the police.
Public fear of crime remains high, particularly in rural areas where 13 per cent of residents felt vulnerable, compared to 7 per cent in urban areas.
The report also questioned the efficiency of Nigeria’s security agencies. It found that only 33.1 per cent of Nigerians reported receiving emergency responses from security agencies within 30 minutes.
The survey noted that in many rural areas, local vigilante groups were viewed as more reliable than formal security forces, especially in addressing cases like livestock and crop theft, where satisfaction with police response remained low.