Nigerians paid an estimated N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024, highlighting the escalating security crisis across the country.
This is according to the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The survey revealed that out of 4.14 million households affected by kidnapping, 65% were forced to pay ransom to secure the release of victims. On average, each ransom payment amounted to N2.67 million during the period under review.
The NBS report also noted a troubling surge in overall crime, with 51.89 million incidents recorded across households nationwide.
The North-West region emerged as the most affected, with 14.4 million cases, followed closely by the North-Central region with 8.8 million. In contrast, the South-East reported the least, with 6.18 million incidents.
“Nationally, an estimated 51,887,032 crime incidences were experienced by households. The North-West reported the highest incidences of crime, followed by the North-Central, while the South-East recorded the lowest,” the report stated.
The data also revealed that rural communities faced higher crime rates than urban areas, with 26.53 million incidents compared to 25.36 million in cities.
Similarly, the report underscored the severity of home robberies, affecting over 4.14 million households, yet only 36.3% of cases were reported to law enforcement agencies.
A resident of Kaduna, a region frequently targeted by kidnappers, expressed the community’s growing distrust in the police:
“Many of us have lost confidence in law enforcement. We pay ransoms because we know reporting to the authorities won’t make a difference,” he said.
The report highlighted phone theft as the most prevalent crime, affecting 13.8% of Nigerians. However, unlike other crimes, 90% of victims of phone theft reported their experiences to the police, though satisfaction with police responses varied.
In the case of sexual offences, the NBS estimated that 1.4 million Nigerians fell victim within the 12 months. Alarmingly, only 22.7% of victims reported these crimes to the police. Many incidents reportedly occurred in the victim’s home or at the residence of someone they knew.
The survey further shed light on Nigeria’s security agencies’ response times during emergencies. Only 33.1% of respondents reported that security forces arrived within 30 minutes after being contacted. In rural areas, local vigilante groups were often considered more reliable than state security agencies.
The fear of crime remains palpable, with 9.6% of Nigerians believing they are at risk of becoming crime victims within the next year.
This fear was more pronounced in rural areas, where 13% of residents reported feeling vulnerable, compared to 7% in urban settings.
A community leader in a rural area of Niger State commented on the situation:
“We rely on vigilante groups for protection because they respond faster than the police. The government needs to prioritize rural security before things get worse.”
Despite the alarming statistics, public trust in law enforcement remains a major issue. In cases of livestock and crop theft, only 42.9% and 42.4% of victims expressed satisfaction with police responses.
