From Victor Osula, Abuja
Kidnapped victims in Nigeria paid a total of $2.2 billion (₦2,231,772,563,507) as ransoms to secure their release from their abductors between May 2023 and April 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics disclosed in a latest report on Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey released on Tuesday.
According to the NBS, an estimated 51,887,032 crime incidents were experienced by households nationwide within the period.
Among households that experienced kidnapping incidents, 65.0 per cent paid a ransom with an average payment of ₦2,670,693.
While 51,887,032 crime incidents were reported nationwide, North-West topped the chart with 14,402,254, North-Central (8,771,400), and South-East (6,176,031).
The survey also recorded 26,526,069 crime incidents in the rural area compared to 25,360,963 cases in urban areas.
In Nigeria, 4,142,174 households experienced home robbery. Less than half (36.3%) of the households who were victims of home robbery reported their experience to the police.
According to NBS, the most common reasons for not reporting crimes include a lack of confidence in law enforcement and the belief that police intervention would not result in meaningful action.
At the individual level, 21.4 percent of Nigerians reported being victims of crime, and the most common crime was phone theft (13.8%).
About 90 percent of the victims of phone thefts reported to the police, and only 50 per cent of the victims expressed satisfaction with police responses.
Also within the period, an estimated 1.4 million experienced sexual offences in Nigeria, which occurred mostly in someone else’s home (27.7%), followed by the victim’s home (22.2%).
“Sexual offences are less likely to occur at a public transport station (0.9%), and only 22.7 per cent of victims reported to the police. Public perception of safety shows that 9.6 per cent of Nigerians believed they might be a victim of crime in the next 12 months. In rural areas, 13.0 per cent of the population believed they could be victims of crime and 7.0 per cent in urban areas,” the report stated.
In terms of security agencies’ timely response to emergencies, the report put the average security agencies response nationally at 33.1%, and the average response time to an emergency call by security agencies at less than 30 minutes.
“About 4 out of 10 households had at least one interaction with state or local security forces within the reference period. Also,1 out of 2 households had contact with the Nigerian Police, and 25.7 per cent reported the incidence of crime to the police after experiencing a crime. Satisfaction with police responses was notably low, particularly for crimes like livestock theft (42.9%) and crop theft (42.4%). In rural areas, many households rely on local vigilante groups,” the report observed.
The Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey provides an in-depth understanding of the situation of crime in Nigeria. In a household-based survey, the target population comprises household members 15 years and older.
The survey was carried out to produce estimates at national and zonal levels covering both urban and rural areas for a twelve-month reference period (May 2023 to April 2024).
The findings provide crucial insights for security agencies, stakeholders, and policymakers to improve public safety and align with the Sustainable Development Goals.
