By Joke Kujenya
PHONE THEFT tops Nigeria’s crime list with over 25 million cases reported in one year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey.
The agency’s finding highlights the prevalence of personal security breaches across the nation.
The survey covered incidents from May 2023 to April 2024, showing phone theft as the most reported crime, followed by consumer fraud with 12.1 million cases and assault with 8.45 million incidents.
Car hijackings, with just 333,349 cases, were the least common crime reported.
Most phone theft incidents occurred at home or in public spaces, with approximately 90 per cent of cases reported to the police.
However, only 11.7 per cent of stolen phones were recovered during this period.
The report also detailed that 17.97 million Nigerians were victims of phone theft, with males accounting for 16.9 million cases and females making up the remainder.
Alarmingly, four per cent of those affected experienced multiple incidents.
In total, 55.16 million crime incidents were recorded nationwide, with males disproportionately affected at 33.59 million cases, compared to 21.58 million for females.
Multiple victimisation was more prevalent among males, with 6.6 per cent affected, compared to 3.7 per cent of females.
Regionally, the North-West reported the highest crime figures at 14.4 million, followed by the North-Central with 8.8 million incidents.
The South-East experienced the lowest crime rate, with 6.18 million cases reported.
Rural areas bore the brunt of criminal activities, recording 26.53 million incidents compared to 25.36 million in urban settings.
The report also cast doubt on the efficiency of Nigeria’s security agencies.
Only 33.1 per cent of emergency calls were responded to within 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, about four in 10 households engaged with security forces, predominantly the Nigerian Police, but satisfaction with their responses was notably low.
In livestock theft cases, only 42.9 per cent of victims expressed satisfaction, while crop theft satisfaction dropped further to 42.4 per cent.
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