DSS Questions Statistician-General Over Report on N2.23 Trillion Ransom Payments

The Department of State Services (DSS) has invited Adeniran Adeyemi, Statistician-General of the Federation, for questioning following the release of a controversial survey report on ransom payments in Nigeria. The report, published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has drawn widespread attention due to its alarming findings.

According to the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, released on Tuesday, Nigerians paid an estimated total of N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024. The report also revealed that 65% of households affected by kidnappings resorted to paying ransoms, with each household paying an average of N2.67 million per incident.

The survey documented an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents across Nigerian households during the reference period. The North-West region recorded the highest crime incidence with 14.4 million cases, followed by the North-Central region with 8.8 million.

Sources close to the situation confirmed that the DSS is examining the methodology and data used in the report. The invitation of the Statistician-General has sparked speculation, with some reports suggesting he was arrested. However, officials clarified that Adeyemi was not detained but only questioned and later released the same day.

“The Statistician-General wasn’t arrested. Although people in authority are not happy about the report, claims that he was detained are false. He was only invited for questioning,” a source familiar with the matter stated.

Meanwhile, the NBS announced that its official website was hacked shortly after the report’s release. The Bureau assured the public that efforts are underway to restore the site’s functionality and urged citizens to disregard any information published on the compromised platform until further notice.