Nigeria has been ranked country with the highest levels of criminality in West Africa, and the second highest in Africa, after the DRC in Central Africa, according to Africa Organised Crime Index 2023.
“The country (Nigeria) is an outlier in the region, as other countries all scored below 6.0: from Mali (5.93) to Sierra Leone (4.95), Guinea (4.58), Gambia (4.53) and Cabo Verde (4.28).
“In recent years, the rise in violent extremism and presence of armed groups have added to the broad spectrum of criminal markets and extensive influence of criminal actors in Nigeria.
“Nigeria (with 8.50 rating) is grappling with banditry groups and various criminal factions involved in kidnap for ransom, arms trafficking and cattle rustling.
“It is estimated that over 30,000 bandits are active in North-West Nigeria, which is particularly vulnerable because of its porous borders, illegal gold mines, and insufficient law enforcement capacity.
“In West Africa, foreign actors (6.40) had the most influence in Benin (8.0), Nigeria (7.50), Côte d’Ivoire (7.50) and Sierra Leone (7.50). They are closely intertwined with criminal networks and collaborate in various criminal markets, particularly the drug trade,” the report revealed.
This is the third edition of the index, which has been published every two years since 2019.
The rankings are based on a scale of zero to 10, and Nigeria’s 2023 overall “criminality score” is 7.28 (up from 7.15 in 2021).
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