Nigerians Paid N2.23t As Ransom In 12 Months — NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has disclosed that Nigerians paid approximately N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers in 12 months.

The NBS made the revelation on Tuesday in a report titled: “The Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024.”

According to the outcome of surveys conducted between May 2023 and April 2024, 65 percent of households affected by kidnapping paid ransoms for the release of their loved ones from the abductors’ den.

Of the estimated amount of N2.2 trillion payments to free victims, “the North West reported the highest ransom paid with N1.2 trillion; while the South East was the least with N85.4 billion. 

Disaggregated by zones, the North Central reported the highest proportion of payment of ransom at 83.4 percent, followed by the North East at 78.6 percent.

“Households in urban areas paid an average of N3.7 million compared to N2.3 million in rural areas.

“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.

“Further analysis by zones revealed that North-West had the highest cases (1,420,307), followed by North-Central (317,837), while the least was recorded in South-East (110,432).

“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 percent) of the households who were victims of home robbery reported their experience to the police. 

Among households that experienced kidnapping incidents, 65.0 percent 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 South-South zone had the highest reporting rate at 100 percent, followed by North-Central at 89.6 percent, while North-West was least reported at 73.9 percent,” the report noted. 

“Disaggregated by place of residence, urban areas recorded 87.1 percent compared to 77.3 percent in rural areas.”