Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released a report on the alarming rate of violence in Nigeria.
The report, which covers the period between May 2023 and April 2024, reveals that over 2 million Nigerians were kidnapped, while more than 600,000 lost their lives during this time frame.
7 out of 10 households in Nigeria reported murder cases to law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, families of kidnapped victims were forced to pay $1.4 billion in ransoms which is more than 2 trillion Naira over the same period.
According to the NBS, the primary perpetrators of these heinous crimes are armed gangs operating in the northwest and north-central regions of the country.
Terrorism, on the other hand, remains a significant threat in the northeast.
Security analyst Saheed Shehu emphasizes that the latest numbers should serve as a wake-up call for the Nigerian government to take immediate action.
Shehu stresses, “It does not balance with this report. So, something must be wrong somewhere.”
Just two weeks ago, the military reported killing 8,000 terrorists, arresting 11,000 suspects, and rescuing 6,000 victims. However, Shehu’s reservations about the accuracy of these numbers are understandable, given the discrepancies between these claims and the NBS report.
The Nigerian government has invested a significant 12% of this year’s budget, approximately $4 billion, in defense. This allocation represents the largest commitment to any government department.
