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NBS removes crime report from website days after hack, SSS invitation of CEO

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has removed its own report entitled, ‘Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024,’ from website days after hack and the reported invitation of its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, by the State Security Service (SSS).

The NBS released the crime report on December 17, 2024. It disclosed that Nigerians paid an estimated N2.3 trillion as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024, noting that 65 percent of households affected by kidnapping had to pay ransoms to secure the release of victims. On average, each household paid N2.67 million per incident.

The report further revealed that 51,887,032 crime incidences were experienced by households, with the North-West having 14,402,254 reported cases -highest in the country.

The report further said the most common reasons for not reporting crimes included a lack of confidence in law enforcement and the belief that police intervention would not result in meaningful action.

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“At the individual level, 21.4 per cent of Nigerians reported being victims of crime, and the most common crime was phone theft (13.8%).” The report further said that about 90 percent of the victims of phone thefts reported to the police, and only 50 percent of the victims expressed satisfaction with police responses.

“Nationwide, an estimated 1.4 million experienced sexual offences, which occurred mostly in someone else’s home (27.7%), followed by the victim’s home (22.2%).”

The report also disclosed that 13 percent of the rural population believed they could be victims of crime. Only 7 percent in urban areas admitted that they could be victims in urban areas.

The report also noted that about four out of 10 households had at least one interaction with state or local security forces within the reference period. One out of two households had contact with the police, with 25.7 percent reporting the incidence of crime to the security agency after experiencing crimes.

However, only 42.9 persons who reported livestock theft cases to the police were satisfied with the way they were handled. Similarly, only 42.4 percent of persons who reported crop theft were satisfied with police handling of the matter.

The twist

On December 19, BusinessDay reported that Mr Adeniran, who is the Statistician-General of the Federation, had been invited and interrogated by the SSS over the report.

However, the BusinessDay’s source said he was not arrested but was interrogated.

“The Statistician General wasn’t arrested. Although people in authority are not happy about the report, but claims that the SG was arrested are false. He was only invited for questioning and was allowed to go that same yesterday.”

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On that same day, the NBS reported that its website has been hacked.

“This is to inform the public that the NBS website has been hacked, and we are working to recover it. Please disregard any message or report posted until the website is fully restored,” NBS said on its X handle.

The NBS’ website is now back, with the institution releasing the inflation report on Wednesday, January 15. However, questions still remain unanswered.

The crime report is no more on website

Economy Post checked the NBS website on Thursday morning but found that the crime report could not be found.

Economy Post could find reports released as long as February 2024 but did not find the crime report released on December 17, 2024. It was easy to find “Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics” released on December 6, 2024, “Nigeria Labour Force Survey Q2 2024” released on November 25, 2024; “National Gross Domestic Product Q3 2024” published on November 25, 2024, among other reports. However, the crime report could not be found.

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“You can even see the ‘National Household Kerosene Price Watch (October 2024)’ once you open the website, but you would not see the crime report. In fact, there are 10 recent reports that you see once you open the NBS website, but the crime report is no more there. Is it an indication that the report was wrong? Is the state trying to gag the NBS? So many unanswered questions,” said a Lagos-based economist, who pleaded anonymity.

In his response, NBS’ spokesman, Mr Sunday Ichedi, said he was yet to open the website and could not ascertain whether the crime report was there or not.

“The website just came back yesterday. I have not opened it. I will open it and see. If you want to use it, find out from your colleagues,” he noted.

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