Nigerians paid ₦2.23 trillion in ransom within one year despite massive security spending – NBS

• About 65% of households affected by kidnapping paid ransom, with the average payment standing at ₦2.7 million per incident.

• The NBS recorded 2.24 million kidnapping incidents in one year, with rural communities accounting for the majority of cases.

• Security agencies received over ₦9.17 trillion between 2020 and 2024, yet more than 51 million crime incidents were reported across Nigerian households during the survey period.

Nigerian households paid more than ₦2.23 trillion in ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024, according to a data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The figure, contained in the agency's Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, highlights the growing cost of insecurity across the country despite billions of naira allocated annually to security agencies.

The survey found that an estimated 2.24 million kidnapping incidents occurred during the period under review, affecting about 1.41 million households nationwide. Of those affected, 65% paid ransom to secure the release of victims, with the total amount paid reaching ₦2.23 trillion.

According to the report, the average ransom payment per incident was about ₦2.7 million. Households in urban areas paid higher amounts, averaging ₦3.7 million, compared to ₦2.3 million in rural communities.

The NBS data showed that kidnapping was more common in rural areas, where about 1.67 million incidents were recorded, compared to 567,850 cases in urban locations.

The report also revealed that nearly half of all kidnappings happened at or near victims' homes. Specifically, 49.3% of cases occurred around residential areas, while 19.4% took place on the streets. Another 15.2% happened during vehicle travel, 9% on public transportation, and 4.7% at workplaces or schools.

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Of the kidnapping victims recorded during the survey period, 82.1% were eventually released, while 12.8% lost their lives. About 3.3% remained in captivity at the time of the survey, while the outcome of 1.3% of cases could not be determined.

The North-West recorded the highest number of kidnapping cases, followed by the North-Central region. The South-East reported the lowest number of incidents.

The report further showed that 80.5% of households affected by kidnapping reported the incidents to the police.

Beyond kidnapping, the survey estimated that Nigerian households experienced about 51.89 million crime incidents during the one-year period.

More than half of the crimes, representing 51%, occurred in rural areas.

The crimes captured in the survey included livestock theft, crop theft, burglary, home robbery, vehicle theft, murder, and kidnapping.

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Livestock theft emerged as the most common crime, accounting for 18% of all reported incidents, followed by crop theft at 15.8%. Vehicle theft was the least common, making up just 0.6% of cases.

Regionally, the North-East recorded the highest overall crime rate at 46.6%, followed by the North-West at 41.5%. The South-West reported the lowest crime rate at 22.4%.

However, the survey found that only 25.7% of households that experienced crime reported the incidents to the police.

The latest figures come despite significant government spending on security.

Data compiled from federal budget records show that between 2020 and 2024, the Federal Government approved about N9.17 trillion for key security institutions, including the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Defence Headquarters, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Police Affairs, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Despite the huge allocation, insecurity remains one of the country's biggest challenges.

The NBS survey covered more than 44.67 million households across Nigeria and found that 15.3 million households, representing 34.3%, experienced at least one form of crime during the review period.

Only 26% of all crime incidents were reported to the police. The North-East recorded the highest reporting rate at 30.4%, while the South-South had the lowest at 17.6%.

The report also examined how safe Nigerians feel in different locations. It found that most people feel safest in places of worship, hospitals and their homes, while public transport systems, roadside ATMs and walking alone in neighbourhoods ranked among the places where people feel least secure.

On the danger of paying ransom and the worsening security situation, the report noted that criminal activities continue to place a heavy financial and emotional burden on millions of households across the country.