It is a matter of public record that the British opposition leader Kemi Badenoch first lashed out at Nigeria publicly in 2022 when she was pushing to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party.

She was quoted as saying, ” I grew up in Nigeria and I saw first-hand what happens when politicians are in it for themselves, when they use public money as their private piggy banks, when they promise the earth and pollute not just the air but the whole political atmosphere with their failure to serve others. I saw what socialism is for millions. It’s poverty and broken dreams. I came to Britain to make my way in a country where hard work and honest endeavour can take you anywhere.”

This was a Briton born in London but lived in Nigeria until she was 16 (in 1996) in one of the highbrow parts of Lagos at a time of sustained military rule which began in 1983. So she could not have had a ‘first-hand’ knowledge of whatever she claimed politicians use public funds for in Nigeria.

As a daughter of an academic, Badenoch, who was then known as Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke lived on the serene campus of the University of Lagos, arguably one of the best federal universities in Nigeria at the time.

She was even a student at the private International School of Lagos which still operates on the university campus but she is known to have spoken about ‘taking chair to school’ which, for many, is a preposterous claim about a very prestigious school. By Nigerian standards, she lived a sheltered life, absolutely cut off from some of what she claimed to have experienced in one of her many disdainful comments about the country.

Although that comment was made about two years ago, it was ignored by officials of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration including former Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo, who is believed to be her maternal cousin.

But interestingly, Kemi Badenoch was known to have courted the Nigerian community in the United Kingdom as a fledgling politician still struggling to find her way around British politics.

Her talking point in 2010 when she was running for parliament in the 2010 UK general elections for Dulwich & West Norwood was the need to “support a Nigerian who is trying to improve our national image”.

Today, she is going to great lengths to sully that image, even to the extent of making up stories that do not tally with her middle/lower upper-class upbringing in Nigeria.

It was therefore not surprising that Vice-President Kashim Shettima who is not known to suffer fools gladly, especially in the political arena had to take her up at a recent function in Abuja. Fortunately, Shettima’s message resonated on the international stage with the influential Financial Times giving it ample space in its December 10 edition.

According to Vice-President Shettima, “Rishi Sunak, the former British prime minister, is originally from India. A very brilliant young man, he never denigrated his nation of ancestry nor poured venom on India.”

The import of that quip is not lost on many. Like Badenoch, Sunak was born in the UK but to East African-born parents of Punjabi descent and is known to always have pretty nice things to say about his Indian heritage.

Shettima added that she was also free to drop her first name in order to totally break any connection to her roots. That was the first time any senior Nigerian official would respond to various comments Badenoch had made about the country over the years and expectedly it elicited comments even in the United Kingdom.

As FT suggested, Vice-President Shettima was indeed responding to comments Badenoch had made about Nigeria over the years which had riled many people who did not take kindly to words which were believed to have been uttered with a view to winning her wider support within the ranks of the Conservative Party.

The London-born Badenoch had in a response to Shettima through one of her aides, said it was not her duty to do PR for Nigeria but she also ended up displaying a temperament that may not be suitable for the office of British Prime Minister which she covets.

More damning is her latest divisive attempt at winning the support of the Yoruba people in the aftermath of her insulting comments about Nigeria, by asserting her ‘Yorubanness’ and at the same time declaring that she has nothing in common with Northern Nigeria which according to her is a haven for Islamism and Boko Haram.

Again, this is yet another proof that she does not always think things through before speaking. It is clearly a cheap shot aimed at Shettima, who is from Maiduguri, Borno state which until recently was a hotbed of Boko Haram insurgency.

It also shows a poor knowledge of Nigeria, because northern Nigeria is a multi-cultural and multi-religious region of 19 states which cannot be defined by an insurgency that only affected a few local government areas in three states even at its most intense.

So, those words should be seen for what they are; a continuation of Kemi Badenoch’s never-ending disdain for Nigeria which all well-meaning Nigerians should stand against in unity.

Okubanjo, a journalist and public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.

Amanda Amaeshi, an award-winning activist, campaigner, and writer, has been named My Life My Say’s ‘Changemaker of the Year’ for 2024.

Amaeshi’s work entails gender equality, anti-racism, and youth voices.

The award, decided by public vote, was announced at My Life My Say’s ‘Next Generation conference,’ held on November 22 at the Barbican Centre in London.

The conference—an annual highlight of the youth-led, nonpartisan charity’s activities—brought hundreds of young people alongside renowned speakers, activists, and politicians together to explore innovative solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges.

Amaeshi was announced the winner from a shortlist of inspiring changemakers across youth leadership, social enterprise, climate activism, media, and culture.

A final-year law student at University College London (UCL), Amaeshi has consistently used her voice to influence policy and advocate for social justice.

In 2017, she won the ‘Young reporters for the environment’ competition for her writing on food waste solutions in Scotland.

Her advocacy journey gained momentum when she became a Year of Young People 2018 ambassador, advocating for youth rights and participation in politics—important issues in Scotland.

In 2020, she was featured on the Young Women’s Movement’s 30 Under 30 list and was honoured as the Glasgow Times ‘Young Scotswoman of the year’.

In 2022, she was listed in the WOW Foundation’s young leaders’ directory.

As a member of Girlguiding’s national advocate panel, Amaeshi has spoken out on issues affecting girls and young women in the UK and has engaged audiences of chief executive officers (CEOs), politicians, and decision-makers.

“Winning is an honour, as I’ve said, but it’s even more of an honour to have a platform to share what I’ve done with others, perhaps with those who otherwise wouldn’t have known because, really, this award’s not about me: it’s about the work that I’ve done, the work that I do together with other people, and its positive impact for society at large,” she said while accepting the 2024 award.

Amaeshi serves on Scotland’s first minister’s national advisory council on women and girls (NACWG), engaging in collaborative intersectional policy scrutiny.

[TheCable]

Africa witnessed a transformative year in 2024, with elections in Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Ghana dominating headlines.

These polls, marked by significant outcomes and circumstances, reshaped the political narratives of their nations and underscored the evolving democratic maturity across the continent.

Senegal

Senegal’s presidential election, held on March 24, 2024, was a critical juncture for the nation’s democratic trajectory. The election culminated in the victory of opposition candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was released from prison barely two weeks before the poll.

The 44-year-old former tax officer emerged as the youngest democratically elected president in West Africa.

South Africa

On May 29, 2024, South Africa conducted its general elections, marking a historic shift in its political arena.

The African National Congress (ANC), which had maintained an absolute majority since the end of apartheid in 1994, experienced a significant decline, securing just over 40% of the vote—a substantial drop from nearly 70% during its peak.

This outcome necessitated the formation of coalition governments, which cemented Cyril Ramaphosa’s second term, introducing new dynamics into South Africa’s governance structure.

Botswana

Botswana’s general elections in October 2024 signified a potential end to the Botswana Democratic Party’s (BDP) 58-year dominance.
Duma Boko, the candidate of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), defeated President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who immediately conceded defeat and congratulated the winner.

Namibia

Namibia’s elections on November 27, 2024, were historic, resulting in the election of Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as the country’s first female president.

She secured 57% of the vote, extending the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) party’s 34-year hold on power since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, despite a reduction in parliamentary seats from 63 to 51.

Nandi-Ndaitwah emerged as vice president in February after President Hage Geingob died while in office.

This election underscored the electorate’s demand for economic reforms and gender representation in leadership.

Ghana

Ghana’s December 7, 2024, elections tested the resilience of its democracy. The opposition leader and former President John Mahama secured victory, with the incumbent Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia conceding defeat.

This election has once again cemented Ghana’s reputation as a beacon of democracy in Africa. The election was widely lauded for its transparency and efficiency by local and international observers.

The 2024 electoral outcomes in these African nations underscore a continental shift toward demanding greater accountability, transparency, and inclusivity from political leaders.

The willingness of electorates to unseat long-standing parties indicates a maturation of democratic processes and a commitment to addressing socio-economic challenges through responsive governance.

These elections also highlight the increasing role of women in leadership positions, as evidenced by Namibia’s election of its first female president.

The 2024 elections in Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Ghana were pivotal in redefining political landscapes, promoting democratic resilience, and reflecting the evolving aspirations of African electorates.

[Business Day]

Nigeria’s foreign exchange market is once again a tale of two worlds. The official market, bolstered by the Central Bank’s Enhanced Foreign Exchange Market Sytem (EFEMS) platform, trades at N1,535/$1, while the parallel market has slipped to N1,680/$1.

The resulting 9% gap reflects growing inefficiencies in forex liquidity management. While EFEMS was designed to streamline access and foster transparency for institutional players, it has left retail participants — largely serviced by Bureau De Change (BDCs) — operating in a less regulated environment.

The EFEMS platform has largely excluded retail forex participants, leaving Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in a difficult position. While the CBN’s latest policy mandates BDCs to source forex from Authorized Dealers via EFEMS and sell to retail buyers, with periodic reporting requirements, the structure of EFEMS is ill-suited to their operational dynamics.

Unlike large institutional players, BDCs operate in smaller transaction volumes and cater directly to the retail market, which demands flexibility and consistent liquidity.

The widening disparity between these markets is more than just an economic inconvenience. It perpetuates arbitrage opportunities, where access to cheaper official dollars becomes a profitable exercise in speculation rather than a tool for productive economic activity.

A growing number of players simply bypass the official market altogether, drawn to the parallel market’s accessibility and flexibility. In this shadowy realm, rates increasingly dictate the prices of goods and services, amplifying inflation and undermining any semblance of price stability.

Liquidity in the official market suffers as a result. Retail demand, unable to find a home within the EFEMS framework, spills into informal channels. This self-reinforcing dynamic undermines the Central Bank’s efforts to stabilize the currency, while discouraging much-needed foreign investment.

Investors view the volatile spread as a warning sign, raising doubts about repatriation of profits and long-term currency stability. For foreign investors, an unreliable forex regime is a warning sign. The promise of stable repatriation becomes uncertain, and Nigeria’s already shaky ability to attract capital weakens further.

So what happens next?

This divergence demands urgent action. Not least because the retail market can not continue to be ignored nor can authorities continue to allow opacity plague the retail and informal market for FX, especially if there is risk of a potential pass through effect on inflation.

The potential solution lies in extending EFEM’s principles of transparency and price discovery to the retail end of the market. BDCs, which remain the main channel for smaller forex transactions, need a platform of their own. A formalized EFEM-style mechanism for BDC operators would likely  introduce structure to a market that currently operates in a chaotic vacuum.

With regular access to liquidity and clear rules of engagement, BDCs could offer competitive rates that narrow the official-parallel gap, dissuading speculative arbitrage and restoring confidence in the naira.

The lessons of March 2024, when the spread was as low as 4%, cannot be ignored. Today, the gap has more than doubled. If policymakers fail to address retail liquidity issues, the disparity will continue to widen. Inflation will rise, foreign investors will retreat, and the parallel market’s dominance will deepen.

Nigeria cannot afford for BDCs or retail participants to remain outside the reform framework. A tailored EFEM for retail forex participants is not just desirable — it is necessary to restore balance, reduce distortions, and rebuild trust in the currency.

The longer the gap persists, the harder it becomes to fix. Furthermore if authorities are serious about capturing more data about retail market participants, The time for decisive reform is now.

[Nairametrics]

According to him, Tinubu said he does not want any part of Nigeria to be cheated.

He noted that the new airport would transform the state into a commercial hub of the South East region.

Keyamo stated this on Tuesday at the flag-off ceremony of the Abia International Airport in Nsulu, Abia State.

Abia Airport project is primarily a federal government initiative, with the state government contributing through runway upgrades.

The airport, initially an airstrip, was upgraded to an international airport.

Keyamo said, “We held Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday, and when I told him I was coming, he was very glad to dispatch me to this occasion.

“It was shortly after we took office and I was briefing the president about the aviation sector that the president asked me why Abia does not have at least an airstrip.

“He told me he doesn’t want any part of this country to be cheated, and in the South East, it is only in Abia State that you cannot land an aircraft. He said, we should make sure in the 2024 budget we give Abia an airstrip.”

Keyamo said the president’s motivation is propelled by his love for the the governor. “He (Tinubu) loves his spirit. I know comments he has made about the governor of this state and how much his people here love him.

“When I called Dr. Alex Otti and broke the news to him about an airstrip, he said no. I will partner with you; I will also put in counterpart funding and let us upgrade it to an international airport. This was what happened.

“Because Abia is the heart of industrialisation of the South East, it doesn’t add up at all that the heart of industrialization of the South East doesn’t have an airport and I can tell you that there are already plans that it is not going to be only a passenger airport but a cargo airport too.”

[NaijaNews]

The Jigawa State Government says it has uncovered 6,348 ghost workers in its staff verification exercise in the state.

Mr Sagir Musa, Commissioner for Infomation, Youths, Sports and Culture, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Dutse.

He said the report of the Statewide Staff Audit Biometric Data Capture and Validation Exercise, showed that 6,348 ghost workers had been detected, allowing the government to save over N314 million monthly.

Musa said the State Executive Council had studied the report and approved the establishment of the Continuous Capture Centre (CCC) at the Office of the Head of Civil Service.

This, he said, would fast-track completion of the data capture and validation exercise, as part of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Management System (IPPMS).

“The exercise resulted in the detection of 6,348 ghost workers and significantly saved cost with an average of N314,657,342.06 per month and N3,775,888,809.72 per annum,” he said.

[DailyTrust]

The water is poisoned! The whole of the water system is tainted and absolutely unusable for its purpose,” Thomas Stockmann, medical doctor, accomplished scientist, informs the people around him. He is employed to look after the health of the people and the public baths, the mainstay of his town’s economy. It is in the course of that job that he makes a scientific discovery that the baths are dangerously polluted, and that they spread typhoid. And he says so.

Dr. Thomas Stockmann is the protagonist in Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play, ‘An Enemy of the People’. We were taught long ago that literature is a reflection of life. We were also taught that literature is the lamp that lights the way of life, past to present – and back to the past. We were taught that drama as a mirror shows us what life truly is. Life itself is a drama, a stage on which we all fret and strut until the light goes out on us. Ibsen’s Thomas Stockmann, public enemy number one, is used here in my celebration of the near end of a particularly dramatic year, our love for false gods and our stoning of the wrong Satan.

I have skimmed through Gabriel Fallon’s ‘Prophecy in the Theatre’ (1956), his quote on drama as a member of the human life – human thought and morality. I have scanned J.C. Kamerbeek’s ‘Prophecy and Tragedy’ (1965), his discussions on dramatic structure and tragic meaning. There is a sense in which the dramatic can be prophetic.

Back to ‘An Enemy of the People’. The drama is in the plot. The setting is a coastal town in southern Norway. Authorities of the town get a hint of Dr Stockmann’s findings on their polluted water. Alarmed and agitated, they meet with him for negotiations. They ask their medical doctor to keep quiet, to shut up. The public must not hear what he is saying. It will create a panic in the town. It will hurt the town and its economy; tourists will stop coming, investors will lose money.

But this doctor is a loud-mouthed stubborn dude. He insists on speaking ‘the truth’. He thinks he has a moral obligation to protect the community from avoidable diseases, from even death.

On more than one occasion, Doctor tells the people that previous unexplained deaths are due to the poisoned water: “Last year, there were people who died from a disease that spread through the town, and I am certain that the cause of it was the poisoned water. I told you then, and I tell you now—this water will kill us all.” His decision to talk, he is certain, is the right course of action. “It is my duty to lay bare the facts in the matter. Every conscientious man must support me in this!”

But the system supports only the “moderate.” Dr Stockmann’s own brother, Peter Stockmann, is the mayor of the town. And it is this brother that openly leads the opposition against this doctor, against his discovery of the pollution and against his audacity to tell.

When the state is on your case, it doesn’t rain; it pours. The press soon shuts out our doctor. His editor friends renege on their promise to publish his findings. They claim they can’t offend their funders. The stubborn medical doctor turns to himself. He resolves to speak directly to the people “in a way that they shall understand” and “drive all the wolves out of the country.” There is a town hall meeting where Stockmann proposes to officially announce his findings: “I am telling you the truth! The entire water system is tainted. People are going to die from this. We must close the baths and have them disinfected. We must stop this typhoid epidemic before it spreads further.”

His brother, the Mayor, hijacks the town hall meeting from him. The Mayor addresses the people. He tells them that his brother’s proposal is injurious to everyone in the town. The repairs he proposes will cost ratepayers “an unnecessary expenditure of some thousand pounds.” From the crowd comes a voice suggesting that the doctor be officially declared a public enemy.

Dr Stockmann watches as the townspeople he is fighting for respond with shouts:

“Yes! Yes! He’s an enemy of the people!”

“He hates his country! He hates his own people!”

“We can’t have someone like him in our town!”

Then a motion follows from someone our medical doctor trusts as his key supporter:

“Dr. Stockmann has shown himself to be an enemy of the people. Therefore, I propose that this gathering officially declares him an enemy of the people.” The vote is by ballot; everyone votes. Dr Stockmann gets one vote – the lone vote comes from a drunk attendee, the village drunkard.

Our man is defeated, but the crowd is not satisfied with what they have done to their doctor.

“Let us go and break his windows! Enemy of the people!” The whole crowd yells.

The consequences are grave. He is dismissed from his job. His daughter loses her teaching job; his landlord ejects him; his little boys suffer bullying in school and are told to excuse classes until further notice. Everyone who should help him avoids him. They say they dare not annoy “the majority” and their “public opinion.”

The play ends without a reprieve for “the enemy of the people.” But the man insists that he is the strongest man and that “the strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.” I think he is naive. That is not what the world is. The one who stands alone stays alone and lonely and without power. Power resides where people stand. The people stand where power is. That explains, perhaps, why Donald Trump is Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’.

We started 2024 eleven and a half months ago bitterly divided over what was truly evil and what was godly. We are ending the year divided still over who is angel and who is Satan. In the next two weeks, it is almost certain that we will roll over into the new year the raging Dele Farotimi vs Afe Babalola war of ‘justice’. There is also the tug of war over whether the tax reform bills potentially threaten or benefit the poor. In those two cases, we will be made to state who our “enemy” is. Unfolding also is the Kemi Badenoch/Yoruba vs Kashim Shettima/ Northern Nigeria debate. In 2025, Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of The People’ will be staged across the entirety of our court and political systems. May God keep us alive – and well.

Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has offered amnesty to criminals in the state, declaring that they have until the end of February 2025 to lay down their arms.

The governor also announced plans to launch a joint security operation to tackle insecurity in the state.

Soludo said the operation is codenamed ‘Operation Udo Ga Achi’, which means ‘Let Peace Reign’.

The governor who briefed journalists at the Anambra State Governor’s Lodge on Tuesday, said his government has identified armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism and touting as the principal problems causing insecurity in the state.

He said: “As for touting, the State Anti-touting Agency codenamed SASA is tackling that in Onitsha and they are doing quite well.

“When we came in as governor, about seven local government areas were in the grip of hoodlums, but we took on them head on and liberated all those communities.

“Today, we hear that a handful of some of those criminals earlier dislodged have now come together and have been terrorizing the state.

“We have had reports of people being kidnapped, and vehicles snatched, but in the coming days, we will launch Operation Udo Ga Achi. We have procured here 168 patrol vehicles which would be distributed to various security agencies.

“Apart from the support we will be given the security agencies, we are also deploying ICT in the fight against insecurity.

“We are calling on criminal elements who would want to partake in our amnesty programme to come forward and surrender themselves and their arms. We are giving them from now to end of February to come and surrender and we will be ready to help them start life afresh.”

Speaking on the continuous incarceration of separatist leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and the fact that many of the criminals hide under the cover of his detention to perpetrate crime, Soludo insisted that indications have shown that what is happening is organized criminal enterprise and has nothing to do with Kanu’s detention.

He said: “I have been at the forefront of the call for the release of Kanu, I even said that in the worst case scenario, I was ready to keep him here at the Government House and produce him anytime he is needed.

“Part of the reason was that we really need to sit down, to interrogate this whole idea. But for people saying that the insecurity is because of his detention, I want to tell you that Nnamdi Kanu himself and IPOB, the organisation he leads, have made several press releases dissociating themselves from the kidnap for ransom and criminality that is ongoing.

“The truth of the matter is that criminals have now emerged, hordes of them organize themselves, using his (Kanu’s) name. I’m not so sure that even if he comes now and says stop that they will hear him. They have tasted blood and they will not stop. They go for kidnappings and they are making millions from it, so they will not stop.

“Imagine someone who is riding okada and they recruit him and he goes into the bush and all his life he has never had N100,000 at once and he joins the group and all of a sudden they do a successful kidnap operation and he gets one million or two from ransom. Tomorrow you think he will want to leave? In fact the one who tells him to leave the business will be his enemy.

“So the matter is much more complicated now and it is taking a life of its own. It is now lucrative business. All of them talking about agitation are just using that as a cover to get the sympathy of the people, especially those who are not informed. They present themselves as liberators. You are a liberator and you stay in the bush and you want us to believe you? They now add to it idolatry. The first thing they put in any town they go to is a massive shrine.”

The governor said henceforth, his government will begin to revoke lands of any community who harbour criminals. He added that members of such communities who give food or contribute money to take to them in the bush will be treated as collaborators.

He said: “Also, any house that is found to have harboured kidnappers will henceforth become the property of the government.”

[DailyPost]

The Edo State House of Assembly, on Monday, suspended all 18 local government chairmen and their vice chairmen for two months. 

The lawmakers further directed the leaders of the legislative arms in the councils to assume control of their administration during the suspension period. 

The decision followed the adoption of a motion moved by Isibor Adeh, representing Esan Northeast 1 Constituency, and seconded by Donald Okogbe of Akoko-Edo 2 Constituency. 

Governor Monday Okpebholo, in a petition dated November 16, 2024, titled “Insubordination and Gross Misconduct by the 18 Local Government Chairmen Over Their Refusal to Submit Financial Records for Scrutiny,” called on the Assembly to address the issue. 

While moving the motion, Adeh cited Section 20(b) of the Local Government Act, which empowers the House of Assembly to suspend any local government chairman for two months pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct. 

The motion was supported by 14 lawmakers, and opposed by six, while three members abstained from voting. 

Speaker of Edo Assembly, Chief Blessing Agbebaku, who directed the Clerk of the House, Yahaya Omogbai, to do a head count of the members, declared that insubordination and gross misconduct would not be allowed from the council chiefs.

In a related development, the lawmakers also screened and confirmed four nominees as Chairman and members of the Edo State Sports Commission.

The commission to be chaired by Amadin Enabule, has Godwin Bazuaye, Frank Illaboya, and Anthony Odianosen as members.

[TheNation]

The National Bureau of Statistics has revealed that Nigerians paid a total of N2.23tn as ransom over the 12 months between May 2023 and April 2024.

This sum was paid by households affected by kidnapping incidents, highlighting the growing threat posed by criminal activities in the country.

According to the NBS’s latest Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 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 had the highest incidence of crime, with 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 also revealed 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.

Of those affected by kidnappings, 65 per cent were forced to pay ransom to secure the release of victims.

The average ransom paid was N2.67m, contributing to the total of N2.23tn paid by Nigerians to criminals during the 12 months.

Despite this, only 36.3 per cent of those who experienced home robbery reported the incidents to the police, with a similarly low reporting rate for kidnapping.

The report read, “Nationally, an estimated 51,887,032 crime incidences were experienced by households. The North-West (14,402,254) reported the highest incidences of crime at the household level, followed by the North-Central (8,771,400), while the South-East (6,176,031) reported the least. The result also shows that the crime incidence in the rural area (26,526,069) was higher than that of the urban area (25,360,963).

“In Nigeria, 4,142,174 households experienced home robbery. Less than half (36.3 per cent) of the households who were victims of home robbery reported their experience to the police. Among households that experienced kidnapping incidents, 65.0 per cent paid a ransom.

“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.”

Many victims cited a lack of confidence in law enforcement and a belief that police intervention would not lead to meaningful action as the main reasons for not reporting.

The survey also revealed that 21.4 per cent of Nigerians fell victim to crime at the individual level, with phone theft being the most common crime, affecting 13.8 per cent of the population.

While 90 per cent of phone theft victims reported the crimes to the police, only half of those victims were satisfied with the police response.

Also, the survey estimated that 1.4 million Nigerians were victims of sexual offences, with most incidents occurring in someone else’s home or the victim’s residence.

Only about 22.7 per cent of sexual offence victims reported the crimes to the police.

Despite the widespread nature of crime, public perception of safety remains low.

The survey found that 9.6 per cent of Nigerians believed they were at risk of becoming victims of crime within the next 12 months.

The fear of crime was higher in rural areas, where 13 per cent of the population felt vulnerable, compared to 7 per cent in urban areas.

The report also questioned the effectiveness of Nigeria’s security agencies, particularly the police, in responding to emergencies.

Only 33.1 per cent of Nigerians reported that security agencies responded to emergency calls within 30 minutes.

The survey revealed that approximately 4 out of 10 households interacted with state or local security forces during the survey period, with half of these households contacting the Nigerian Police.

However, satisfaction with police responses was notably low, especially in cases of livestock and crop theft, where only 42.9 per cent and 42.4 per cent of victims expressed satisfaction, respectively.

In many rural areas, local vigilante groups were seen as a more reliable source of security.

[Punch]