THE National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently released scary statistics which eloquently signpost the severity of the heightening insecurity in the country. In its latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS), the Bureau revealed that Nigerians paid a total of N2.23 trillion in ransom over a 12-month period, from May 2023 to April 2024! The sum was reportedly paid as ransom by households whose members were kidnapped and who had to choose between losing their loved ones to kidnappers or making payments to them. In other words, the affected households made the humongous ransom payments under duress and the veritable threat of losing their members in kidnappers’ dens. There were even instances when the demands of abductors were met by the households and the felons still went ahead to kill the victims.

Just as the total value of resources forcefully channeled to violent non-state actors is mindboggling, so is the sheer number and pervasiveness of crime incidents that generated filthy lucre for the criminals. About 52 million incidents were reportedly experienced by households, with the North-West region recording the highest number of crimes at over 14.4 million incidents, followed by the North-Central region at 8.8 million. Surprisingly, the South-East recorded the fewest incidents (6.18 million cases), even though the zone was thought to be a hotbed of criminality based on perfunctory observations and news reports. Some youths in the South-East have for some time been restive and calling for secession, so it is natural to assume that the zone is largely an ungoverned space with the highest crime rate, but the outcome of the survey indicates the opposite. The survey also shows that the rural areas were more affected by crime than urban areas, with rural households experiencing a total of 26.53 million incidents, compared to 25.36 million in urban settings. This revelation has serious implication for rural economic activities, especially agriculture and food production. According to the report on CESPS, which of course is not surprising, kidnapping was the leading criminal activity during the review period. And about 65 percent of the households that experienced kidnapping were forced to pay ransoms in excess of the country’s budgetary allocation to theeducation sector in 2024!

The statistics are simply staggering and sadly suggestive of the absence of government. The CESPS report even looks a lot grimmer given the revelation that just 36 percent of the households which were victims of home robbery reported their experience to the police. NBS is a government agency and the government ought to know how to track these criminal activities and ransom payments but it does not seem to have done much in that regard. Meanwhile, one of the trumpeted advantages of the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and National Identity Number (NIN) which the government insisted every Nigerian must have was that the record of individuals in the official custody would be used for crime control. The government sounded believable on this score because till date, no one can open a bank account or buy a SIM card without evidence of BVN and NIN registration. However, it is evident that the security agencies have not made effective use of the BVN/NIN-enabled information at their disposal to zero in on criminals and rein in crime. Ordinarily, the impression ought not to be given that crime pays but sadly, that is what the ransom payments to criminals suggest. Certainly, those coughing up huge sums of money as ransoms are doing so out of desperation. If they had a choice, they would not reward malefactors for inflicting psychological pain on them by kidnapping their loved ones.

honestly, it still beggars belief that government could not use NIN, BVN and so on to expose the criminals. For instance, if ransom payments are being made through banks, why can’t the relevant agencies of government track the payments and the payees or beneficiaries? And if the payments are being made in cash, surely the money would have been withdrawn from banks. Why don’t such huge withdrawals arouse official suspicion? And how are the kidnappers able to move the money around without being caught? The security agencies have to brace up to the challenges posed by kidnapping as a rapidly burgeoning enterprise in the land.

Without a doubt, the NBS’s revelation has helped to put in perspective the utter failure of the government and its vaunted security architecture in meeting security aspirations and assuring Nigerians of adequate security. The fact that big ransom paid could not have been paid in cash alone shows that the government was still unable to prevent or track funds paid through banks and official channels and that is quite embarrassing. It is yet unclear whether this sordid state of affairs is occasioned by incompetence or unwillingness by the security agencies to do what has to be done to contain acts of criminality in the land. What is, however, clear is that Nigerians are being left at the mercy of kidnappers, bandits and sundry criminals. These on-state actors are increasingly and brazenly interrogating the government’s claim to monopoly of violence.

We expect the government to appreciate the depth and enormity of the insecurity in the land and its economic effects, including the payment of massive ransoms and food insecurity arising from the prevalence of kidnapping and other criminal activities in the rural areas. We call on the government to up its ante and curb insecurity. It is axiomatic that no meaningful growth and development can be expected without adequate security in the land and that is why the government should face the task with renewed urgency and determination. Acts of criminality, especially kidnapping, have become hugely profitable and rewarding to the perpetrators and it will take a bolstered political will and strategic official actions to reverse the situation. (Nigerian Tribune Editorial)