The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that 26.53 million crime incidents were reported in rural households across the country between May 2023 and April 2024.
NBS in its latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report also disclosed that Nigerians paid an estimated ₦2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers within the period under review, according to Daily Trust.
In the reference period, 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded across Nigerian households.
According to the survey, the North-West region had the highest incidence of crime, with 14.4 million cases reported, followed by the North-Central region with 8.8 million incidents.
In contrast, the South-East region reported the least crime, with 6.18 million incidents.
Of those affected by kidnappings, 65 per cent were forced to pay ransom to secure the release of victims.
The average ransom paid was N2.67m, contributing to the total of N2.23tn paid by Nigerians to criminals during the 12 months.
“Nationally, an estimated 51,887,032 crime incidences were experienced by households. The North-West (14,402,254) reported the highest incidences of crime at the household level, followed by the North-Central (8,771,400), while the South-East (6,176,031) reported the least. The result also shows that the crime incidence in the rural area (26,526,069) was higher than that of the urban area (25,360,963).
“In Nigeria, 4,142,174 households experienced home robbery. Less than half (36.3 per cent) of the households who were victims of home robbery reported their experience to the police. Among households that experienced kidnapping incidents, 65.0 per cent paid a ransom.
“The average amount paid as ransom was N2,670,693, with an estimated total ransom of N2,231,772,563,507 paid within the reference period,” the report read in part.
