• Home
• Columnist
• Videos
• Artist
  • Musicians
  • Actors
  • Comedians
• Notable Nigerians
• Legend Dies
• Articles
  • Nigeria Articles
• Photos
• Submit Article

CLEEN Foundation releases a report on crime in Nigeria for 2010 and 2011 and identifies mobile phone handsets, money and food as items holding more attraction to thieves

Controversy has continued to trail the 2011 national criminal victimisation and safety survey presented by CLEEN Foundation recently. The foundation claimed that in spite of the various crimes control measures adopted by the law enforcement agencies in the Past 11 years, criminals have continued to operate with impunity.  CLEEN foundation said it started the conduct of large surveys on crime victimisation in the country since 2004 in an effort to address the missing gap in the nation’s crime control measures.  The report covered 2010 and first half of 2011.

According to the CLEEN, the most common forms of victimisation were theft of various kinds of property, especially handsets, money and agricultural products. The foundation also noted that domestic violence, robbery and physical assault are also prevalent in the country. Theft of mobile GSM phones was rated 49. 9 percent, theft of money was put at 34.8 percent; domestic violence, 21 percent; physical assault 20.2 percent; burglary 13.7 percent; robbery was put at 13.5 percent while theft of agricultural products recorded 10.3 percent. Crimes like murder, rape, same sex intercourse and car theft recorded low rates within the period surveyed.  Some of the states that recorded high incidences of personal victimisation include Jigawa, Rivers, Federal Capital Territory, FCT; and Ebonyi; while Osun, Imo, Enugu, Abia, Ogun and Lagos states recorded the lowest. The report said more than half of the respondents, representing 56.1 percent, reported their bitter experiences to only family members and friends while about 16 percent, which is less than one fifth reported to the police.

Even among those that reported to the police, only 29 percent respondents were satisfied with the way the police treated their cases, while about 35.8 percent of the respondents were not satisfied at all by the response of the police. About 31 percent of them said the police did not do enough to apprehend the offenders and only 12 percent accused the police of not responding promptly in their excruciating periods.  Other respondents in the report also accused the police of demanding for bribe before taking action or in some cases colluded with the suspects to thwart investigation.

The report also looked into the action of rape victims and noted that victims are generally reluctant to report their experiences to law enforcement agencies due to fear of stigmatisation and insensitivity on the part of the public. In this case, only 27.8 percent of the victims of rape or attempted rape reported to the police. Among the victims, 47.8 percent were satisfied with the handling of the case, while 40.9 percent said they were not satisfied with the action of the police because they did not do enough either to apprehend the offenders or arrive at the right time. The report also listed factors responsible for the upsurge in rape cases in the country during the period under review. These include provocative dressing among young women, bad influence of the media, lack of self-control by some men, mental illness among men, influence of alcohol, keeping late nights by women and greed among the womenfolk.

The report also took a swipe on corruption in the country, which it says, is the most devastating threat to Nigeria’s security, unity and development. The organisation noted that most of the critical problems in the country occur due to corruption. Some of the evils associated with corruption include inter-group conflicts, bureaucratic ineffectiveness, deterioration and absence of critical developmental and welfare infrastructure, widespread poverty, unemployment and crime. According to the organisation, there is high level of official corruption as there are perceptions of public officials asking for bribe before they carry out their duties, especially in agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Federal Road Safety Commission, State Security Service, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Prisons Service and Power Holding Company of Nigeria and other government agencies and institutions.

Innocent Chukwuma, executive director of the foundation, said long neglect of the police during the long years of military rule was responsible for the high rate of crime in the country. He noted that in spite of the various control measures that have been implemented in the country over the past 11 years, criminals have continued to operate in greater number. Chukwuma said the fear of crime was a major obstacle to personal well-being, social interaction and economic transactions and activities.  “It appears that crime fighting in many states has been reduced to a desperate game with criminal elements having the upper hand. Bandits kidnap on daily basis collecting huge sums of money from helpless citizens, while the federal government, which controls law enforcement and security agencies appears helpless in responding to the phenomenon,” Chukwuma said.

Etannibi Alemika, professor of Criminology and a leading researcher on crime and policing in Nigeria, said the survey were critical instruments of law making, policies, programmes and decisions aimed at promoting security and safety in the society. The analyses are also to be used for effective and efficient planning, operations and administration by the police, prosecutors, judges and prison officials. He insisted that the significance of the crime surveys originated from the inadequacies of official criminal statistics provided by the police, prosecutors, courts, prisons and other law enforcement and regulatory agencies in the various countries. “Due to the significance of the project, nations strive to develop adequate capacity and deploy enough human, financial and infrastructural resources for the collection and analysis of the incidence, prevalence, trends and patterns of criminal activities and victimisation to acquire necessary knowledge and ability for crime prevention and control,” he said.

But Peter Efosa, a public affairs analyst, identified some loopholes in the report. He said the surveys were hurriedly done and, therefore does not reflect the true picture of victimisation, insecurity and violent crimes in the country. “I commend the efforts of the foundation, but the report remains controversial because there are some issues raised that cannot be supported. Not every Nigerian will accept the report hook, line and sinker,” Efosa said.