The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in its 2024 Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) report that Nigerians paid an estimated N2.3 trillion as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024.
According to the survey, 65 per cent of households affected by kidnapping incidents resorted to paying ransoms to secure the release of victims.
According to the CESPS report, about 65 per cent of households that experienced kidnapping incidents paid an average ransom of N2.67 million, totalling N2.23 trillion.
The report disclosed that 4,142,174 households experienced home robbery, yet, only about 36.3 per cent reported their experience to the police.
Te report explained that the most common reasons for not reporting crimes included lack of confidence in law enforcement and the belief that police intervention would not result in meaningful action.
The NBS stated that an estimated 51,887,032 crime incidents were experienced by households nationwide.
The northwest topped the chart with 14,402,254 reported crime incidents at the household level, followed by the north central with 8,771,400, northeast with 7.9 million cases, south-south with 7.7 million, southwest with 6.9 million while the southeast reported the least cases, 6.2 million.
The report also stated that the rural areas recorded 26,526,069 cases while the urban areas had 25,360,963.
According to the report, the most common reasons for not reporting crimes included 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 per cent of Nigerians reported being victims of crime, and the most common crime was phone theft (13.8%).
Also, the report found that about 90 per cent of the victims of phone thefts reported to the police, and only 50 per cent of the victims expressed satisfaction with police responses.
“Nationwide, an estimated 1.4 million experienced sexual offences, 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 on safety shows that 9.6 percent 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.
CESPS added that at the individual level, 21.4 per cent of Nigerians reported being victims of crime and the most common crime was phone theft (13.8 per cent).
About 90 per cent of the victims of phone thefts reported to the police, and only 50 per cent of the victims expressed satisfaction with police responses.
Security agencies’ average response time to emergencies is a key indicator of effective crime prevention.
Nationally, 33.1% reported that the average response time to an emergency call by security agencies is 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.
