DSS grills Statistician-General over N2.23 trillion ransom report under Tinubu’s govt

The Department of State Services (DSS) has invited Adeniran Adeyemi, the Statistician-General of the Federation, for questioning following the release of a controversial report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on ransom payments in Nigeria.

The report, titled the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, revealed that Nigerians paid an estimated N2.23 trillion in ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024.

The survey claimed that 65% of households affected by kidnappings resorted to paying ransoms, with an average payment of N2.67 million per incident.

The report also revealed that over 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded nationwide during the reference period, with the North-West region bearing the brunt at 14.4 million cases.

Sources confirmed that the DSS is scrutinizing the methodology and data behind the report, which has sparked national and international attention.

The agency aims to determine the accuracy and credibility of the findings, which have raised concerns about the scale of criminal activity and its economic impact under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Contrary to reports of an arrest, sources within the Bureau clarified that Adeyemi was merely invited for questioning, which he honoured.

“The Statistician-General wasn’t arrested. Although the report has drawn criticism from some authorities, the DSS only invited him, and he was released the same day,” an insider told Business Day.

The controversy surrounding the report comes amid heightened security concerns across the country.

It also raises questions about the government’s efforts to combat crime and the growing economic toll of insecurity on Nigerian households.