A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed a staggering N2.2 trillion was paid as ransom by Nigerians between May 2023 and April 2024, showing the severe security challenges facing the nation.
The NBS's Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey highlights that this enormous sum was extracted from households affected by kidnapping incidents, reflecting the growing threat posed by criminal activities across the country.
The survey recorded an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents nationwide during the reference period.
"The North-West region led the chart with the highest number of incidents, reporting 14.4 million cases," the report stated, emphasizing the regional disparities in crime rates.
Following closely was the North-Central region with 8.8 million incidents, while the South-East reported the least, with 6.18 million incidents.
Rural areas bore the brunt of these crimes, with 26.53 million incidents compared to 25.36 million in urban areas. Kidnapping emerged as a particularly grave issue, affecting 4.14 million households. On average, each ransom payment amounted to N2,670,693, contributing to the total ransom figure of N2,231,772,563,507.
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