Terror-ravaged North leads as nearly 700,000 Nigerians killed in one year

The northeastern and northwestern regions of Nigeria recorded the highest figures as nearly 700,000 people were killed in the country between May 2023 and April 2024, a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed.

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The report tagged ‘The Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024’, revealed that 614,937 people were killed nationwide. Of this figure, 206,030 were killed in the banditry-ravaged North-west, while 188,992 people were killed in the North-east, a region plagued by years-long insurgency by Boko Haram and its splinter groups.

Blaming the killings on factors such as “socio-economic conditions, cultural norms, gang activity, organised crime and political instability,” the bureau said rural areas recorded 335,827 incidents of murder, while urban areas recorded 279,110.

“Further analysis by zones showed that North-West had the highest murder cases (206,030), followed by North-East (188,992), while the least was recorded in South-West (15,693),” the report revealed.

Over two million kidnapped, N2.2 trillion ransom paid

Similarly, the report shows that 2.2 million (2,235,954) Nigerians were kidnapped within the time under review. It added that N2.2 trillion (N2,231,772,563,507) was paid in ransom.

Noting that kidnapping was more prevalent in rural areas, the report shows that the North-west had the highest cases of kidnapping with 1,420,307 people abducted. This was followed by North-central where 317,837 were kidnapped. However, the South-east region recorded the least kidnapping cases with 110,432.

“The North-west reported the highest ransom paid with N1.2 trillion, while the South-east was the least with N85.4 billion,” the report stated, adding “households in urban areas paid an average of ₦3.7 million compared to ₦2.3 million in rural areas.”

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“Among the reported kidnapping cases, 82.1 per cent of kidnapped individuals were released, 12.8 per cent were killed, 3.3 per cent were still in captivity against their will while 1.3 per cent did not know the outcome of the incident,” it added.

Nearly half (49.3 per cent) of the reported kidnapping cases occurred at home or outside the home, 19.4 per cent took place on the street, while 15.2 per cent of the cases occurred while driving or travelling in motor vehicles.

Nine per cent of the cases occurred in what the bureau described as collective transportation, while 4.7 per cent occurred “at work/school or outside work/school.”

The report attributed the kidnapping cases to political, criminal or terrorist objectives, personal or family disputes and custody disputes.

Livestock, crop and motor vehicle thefts

Theft of livestock, which is common to criminal bandits and terrorist groups, was among the 51,887,032 household crime incidents recorded between May 2023 and April 2024.

According to the report, the North-west recorded the highest rate of household crimes with 14,402,254 cases. The region was followed by the North-central with 8,771,40 cases as the South-east recorded 6,176,031 cases.

“The result also shows that the crime incidence in the rural areas (26,526,069) was higher than that of urban areas (25,360,963),” the report noted.

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Repentant Boko Haram fighters escape with govt rifles, motorcycles

“Nationally, the incidence of livestock theft was 18,823,028,” the report revealed, noting rural and urban areas recorded 9,847,628 and 8,975,458 respectively.

It further explained that the North-west took the lead in livestock theft with 6,023,811 cases. This was followed by North-central with 3,446,893, while the South-south recorded the least cases of 1,503,276.

Also, 18,986,366 cases of crop theft were recorded nationally with the North-west having the highest cases of 3,849,546. The South-south region came next with 3,847,555 cases, while the least crop theft was observed in the South-west which recorded 2,371,764 cases.

On the theft of motor vehicles, the reports noted that the North-west “recorded the highest (603,756), followed by North-Central (246,329), while the South-West had the least (140,144) motor vehicle theft. Further disaggregation by place of residence shows that rural areas had the highest with 887,002 while urban areas recorded the least with 700,361.”