Nigeria is ranked sixth in the world for organised crime, according to the 2023 Global Organized Crime Index.
The report stated that Nigeria continues to face a series of security challenges, corruption and other criminal activities.
According to the survey done by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, which was released on Wednesday, the status of organised criminality in Nigeria increased by 0.13 points.
Nigeria scored 7.28 out of 10 points which makes it the sixth in the world and second highest in Africa behind the Democratic Republic of Congo (7.35) and ahead of South Africa (7.18).
In 2021, the last time the report was released, Nigeria was ranked fifth with a score of 7.14 points.
Myanmar has the highest criminality score (8.15), followed by Colombia (7.75) and Mexico (7.57).
The report noted that “levels of criminality are increasing worldwide while resilience measures are falling short of meeting the threat..”
In the criminal actors category, Nigeria has 7.20 points with an increase of 0.5 while it scored 8.50 points in the criminal network score. The survey also shows an increase in the number of foreign criminal actors active in the country as its score increased by 0.50 in that category.
The country also scored 5.50 points for the presence of mafia-style groups, 7.00 points for private-sector actors and 7.50 points for state-embedded actors.
“For the purpose of the Global Organized Crime Index, organised crime is defined as illegal activities conducted by groups or networks acting in concert, by engaging in violence, corruption or related activities in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or material benefit. Such activities may be carried out both within a country and transnationally.
“Drawing on a more comprehensive dataset and informed by the specialist knowledge of over 400 experts worldwide, the results of the 2023 Index offer a complex picture of the trajectory of organized crime, underscoring the intricacies in measuring this clandestine phenomenon,” the report stated.
Insecurity in Nigeria
Nigeria is facing a myriad of spiralling security challenges that have led to multiple humanitarian crises over the years. All the six geo-political zones face security challenges including terrorism, human trafficking, and arms smuggling among others.
The country also has cases of money laundering and corruption among top and junior government officials.
While the Boko Haram insurgency has not been completely dealt with in the North-east of the country, the North-west region faces layers of security challenges from terrorists locally called bandits.
These terrorists regularly attack rural communities and engage in widespread kidnapping for ransom as well as the killing of motorists and other residents. Thousands of people have either been killed, abducted, or displaced in the region.
In the North-central, farmers and herders have been engaged in a tit-for-tat crisis leading to the death and displacement of hundreds of people. In recent years, the crisis has evolved to become more ethno-religious in complexion.
A part of the region is also being attacked by bandits.
In the South-east region, secessionist agitation is rife, and thousands of people have been killed by the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other copycat criminal groups in the region.
In the South-south region, sea piracy and oil theft have continued with the military accused of involvement in the theft.
In the South-west region, kidnapping and armed criminality are on the increase.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
