Nigerians shelled out a staggering ₦2.23 trillion in ransom payments to kidnappers over a 12-month period, from May 2023 to April 2024.
This alarming figure comes from the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report.
What’s even more concerning is that 65% of households affected by kidnapping opted to pay ransom to secure the release of their loved ones, highlighting the desperation and fear that grips families in these situations.
“The average amount paid as ransom was ₦2,670,693, with an estimated total ransom of ₦2,231,772,563,507 paid within the reference period,” the NBS report read.
It said kidnapping incidence was estimated at 2,235,954 nationally with results showing that rural areas (1,668,104) recorded more kidnappings than urban areas (567,850).
“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),” it said.
Of the households that experienced kidnapping, the survey indicated that 80.5 reported it to the police.
“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.”
A further analysis of the report showed that some of the abducted persons were killed, while others were released.
