Between May 2023 and April 2024, Nigerians paid US$2.79 billion in ransoms, reflecting rising crime, including kidnapping, across the country.
The Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Nigerians paid a total of US$2.79 billion (or N2.23 trillion) in ransom in the 12 months between May 2023 and April 2024.
According to the latest NBS Criminal Experience and Safety Perceptions report, US$2.79 billion was paid as ransom by households affected by kidnappings, highlighting the growing threat posed by criminal activities in the country.
He explained that about 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded in Nigerian households during the reporting period.
The survey showed that the North West region had the highest incidence of crime, with 14.4 million reported cases, followed by the North Central region with 8.8 million incidents.
In contrast, the Southeast region reported the fewest crimes, with 6.18 million incidents.
The results also revealed that rural areas were more affected by crime than urban areas, with 26.53 million crime incidents in rural households compared to 25.36 million in urban areas.
The report highlighted the severity of kidnappings, with 4.14 million households falling victim to burglaries.
Among those affected by kidnappings, 65% were forced to pay a ransom to secure the release of the victims.
The average ransom paid was US$3,338 (or N2.67 million), contributing to the total US$2.79 billion paid by Nigerians to criminals over the 12 months.
Despite this, only 36.3% of people who were victims of burglaries reported the incidents to the police, with a similarly low reporting rate for kidnappings.
The report states: “Nationally, an estimated 51 million,887,032 crime incidents were experienced by households. The North West (14 million 402 254) reported the highest number of crime incidents at the household level, followed by the North Central (8 million 771 400), while the South East (6 million 176 031) in reported the least. The results also show that the incidence of crime in rural areas (26 million 526 069) was higher than that in urban areas (25 million 360 963). »
GIK/fss/Sf/APA
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