Nigerians Paid N2.3 Trillion in Ransoms Over the Past Year, NBS Survey Reveals
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that Nigerians paid an estimated N2.3 trillion as ransom in the last 12 months, shedding light on the overwhelming financial toll of crime in the country. The figure, captured in the 2024 Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS), underscores the alarming prevalence of crimes such as kidnapping across the nation.
The report, which spans the period from May 2023 to April 2024, indicates that a staggering 65 percent of households affected by kidnapping incidents resorted to paying ransoms to secure the release of victims. On average, each affected household paid N2.67 million per incident, further emphasizing the economic strain that these criminal activities impose on families.
Nationally, the survey revealed that approximately 51.9 million crime incidents were experienced by households across Nigeria. The North-West region recorded the highest incidence rate, with over 14.4 million reported incidents, followed by the North-Central with about 8.8 million. In contrast, the South-East region recorded the least number of crimes at around 6.2 million incidents.
The survey also showed a worrying trend in the distribution of crime across urban and rural areas. Rural areas reported a higher number of crimes, with 26.5 million incidents, compared to 25.4 million in urban areas. In a further concerning statistic, 4.1 million households reported experiencing home robberies, yet less than half (36.3%) of those affected reported the crimes to the police.
One of the main reasons for this low reporting rate, according to the survey, was a lack of confidence in law enforcement agencies. Many victims felt that police intervention would not lead to any significant action. At the individual level, 21.4 percent of Nigerians reported being victims of crime, with phone theft emerging as the most common crime, affecting 13.8 percent of individuals. Interestingly, 90 percent of phone theft victims reported the incidents to the police, but only 50 percent expressed satisfaction with the police response.
The survey also highlighted the prevalence of sexual offences, with an estimated 1.4 million Nigerians falling victim. These offences were most commonly reported in someone else’s home (27.7%), followed by the victim’s own home (22.2%).
This report paints a grim picture of the state of security in Nigeria and calls for a more robust and responsive law enforcement framework to address the growing crisis and mitigate the financial and psychological impacts of these crimes on Nigerian households.
