An Average of 9 People Killed & 6 Kidnapped Everyday in Nigeria Between January & April 2019, according to Police 

Ag IGP, Mohammed Adamu

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said that 1,071 persons died in crime-related cases and 685 persons kidnapped across the country in the first quarter of 2019, Punch reports.

This means an average of 9 murders and 6 persons were kidnapped across Nigeria between January and April, 2019.

Adamu said this during the quarterly Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council meeting held in Kaduna on Tuesday.

Adamu gave a breakdown of the statistics as follows

767 of the persons killed were from the North: North-West – 436; North-Central – 250;

South-South recorded 130 deaths in the first four months

Zamfara State alone had 203 murder cases

Kaduna State had 112 reported cases

Benue State had 90 cases.

Most of the murder cases in the North are linked to banditry and communal violence, Adamu said with banditry claiming 175 lives between January and April 2019.

Zamfara State had 104 reported cases of deaths due to banditry, Katsina State had 21 people killed by bandits and Sokoto State had 19 cases.

546 of the reported kidnap cases, representing 79.8% of the national total, were recorded in the three northern geopolitical zones.

In the North-West 365 persons were  kidnapped within the period under review.

North-Central – 145 persons were kidnapped.

“It is pertinent to mention that Zamfara State has the highest national kidnap rate with 281 victims in what has been directly linked to the activities of bandits in the state. This is followed by Kogi and Niger states where 65 and 51 persons, respectively were kidnapped within the period,” the IG added.

212 major armed robbery cases were reported nationally within the period under review, Adamu said, adding that 130 of the cases occurred in the North.

“The North-Central geopolitical zone with a total of 81 armed robbery cases represents the zone with the highest rate while Niger State, the FCT and Zamfara State with 32, 23 and 18 cases, respectively occupy the three topmost states in the national armed robbery profile,” he added.