Nigerians Paid Over N2 Trillion in Ransom 12 Months - NBS Reports

Israel Adeleke

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday released a disturbing report which has it that Nigerians paid a staggering N2.3 trillion in ransom over a 12-month period.

OTN further reports that the figure, drawn from the 2024 Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS), underscores the financial toll of crimes in the country.

According to NBS, the survey, covering May 2023 to April 2024, revealed that 65 per cent of households impacted by kidnappings paid ransoms, averaging N2.67 million per incident. 

Furthermore, during this period, an estimated 51.9 million crime incidences were recorded nationwide.

The report added that North-West accounted for the highest crime incidence at 14.4 million cases, followed by the North-Central (8.8 million).

Also, the South-East reported the lowest number, with 6.2 million cases, rural areas experienced higher crime rates, with 26.5 million incidents compared to 25.4 million in urban areas.

The report further explained that home robberies affected over 4.1 million households, yet only 36.3 per cent of victims reported these incidents to the police. 

The report attributed the low reporting rates to distrust in law enforcement and scepticism over police efficacy.

At the individual level, 21.4 per cent of Nigerians reported being victims of crime, with phone theft accounting for 13.8 per cent of incidents.

Among phone theft victims, 90 per cent reported to the police, but only half expressed satisfaction with police responses, the report stated.