Nigeria recorded a staggering 25.35 million phone theft cases between May 2023 and April 2024, according to the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The Federal Government agency described phone theft as the most prevalent crime during the period under review.
The report revealed that theft of phones constituted 13.8 per cent of all crimes experienced in the country, making it the most common, followed by consumer fraud (12.1 million cases) and assault (8.45 million cases).
Car hijacking, with 333,349 incidents, was identified as the least reported crime.
The report noted that about 17.97 million Nigerians experienced phone theft within the one-year period, with males (16.9 million) being more affected than females.
Shockingly, only 11.7 per cent of reported stolen phones were recovered, despite 90 per cent of theft cases being reported to the police.
“Seven out of 10 phone thefts occurred either at home or in public places,” the report stated.
“Although about 50 per cent of victims expressed satisfaction with police response, the low recovery rate raises questions about the effectiveness of crime resolution.”
The survey highlighted that approximately four per cent of Nigerians experienced repeated phone thefts, with males more likely to be victimized than females.
Additionally, individuals aged 45–54 years were the most affected age group (7.1 per cent), while those aged 15–24 years were the least affected (3.4 per cent).
The North-West region recorded the highest crime rate, with 14.4 million cases, followed by the North-Central region with 8.8 million cases.
The South-East region had the least reported incidents, totaling 6.18 million. Rural areas bore the brunt of criminal activities, with 26.53 million cases compared to 25.36 million
The report further cast doubt on the responsiveness of Nigeria’s security agencies. Only 33.1 per cent of Nigerians reported that emergency calls were attended to within 30 minutes.
Local vigilante groups were seen as more reliable in rural areas, particularly for tackling crimes like livestock and crop theft, where police response satisfaction rates were as low as 42.9 per cent and 42.4 per cent, respectively.
The report added that 55.16 million crime incidents were recorded during the survey period, affecting individuals across various demographics.
Five per cent of Nigerians reportedly experienced multiple crimes, with males disproportionately affected.
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