The National Bureau of Statistics said that Nigerians paid a total of N2.2 trillion as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024 amid worsening insecurity across the country.
This is according to NBS’s latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report.
The report showed that this was paid by households affected by kidnapping incidents, highlighting the growing threat posed by criminal activities in the country.
According to the report, an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded across Nigerian households in the reference period.
The survey showed that the North-West region led the chart with the highest incidents- 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.
The findings from the survey indicated that rural areas were more affected by crime than urban areas, with 26.53 million crime incidents in rural households compared to 25.36 million in urban areas.
The report highlighted the severity of kidnapping, with 4.14 million households experiencing home robbery.
“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,” it highlighted.
This comes amid the continued rise in insecurity across Nigeria.