The National Bureau of Statistics has alerted Nigerians that its official website has been hacked.
The agency urged the public to ignore any reports or data released from the platform until it is fully restored.
In a statement posted on its verified X account on Wednesday, the NBS said: “This is to inform the public that the NBS Website has been hacked, and we are working to recover it. Please disregard any message or report posted until the website is fully restored. Thank you.”
This warning came after reports surfaced claiming that Nigerians paid N2.2 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024, as stated in the bureau’s Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey.
The CESPS report, allegedly published on Tuesday, stated that 65% of households affected by kidnappings paid ransoms, with an average ransom of N2.7 million per incident.
According to the report, the North-West region recorded the highest ransom payments, totaling N1.2 trillion, while the South-East had the least, at N85.4 billion. Rural areas experienced more kidnappings, with 1.67 million reported cases, compared to urban areas’ 567,850 cases.
The report further highlighted that households nationwide faced an estimated 51.9 million crime incidents during the period. The North-West recorded the highest household crimes at over 14.4 million, while the South-East had the lowest at 6.2 million.
The CESPS suggested that less than half of the households affected by crimes such as home robbery reported to the police, with reasons ranging from lack of confidence in law enforcement to a belief that reporting would not yield results.
“Only 36.3% of households who were victims of home robbery reported to the police,” the report said, adding that 24% preferred reporting to other authorities.
At the individual level, phone theft was noted as the most common crime, affecting 13.8% of victims. While 90% of phone theft victims reported incidents to the police, only half expressed satisfaction with police responses.
The NBS did not confirm or deny the legitimacy of the CESPS report but stressed the need for caution regarding any information on its website. Efforts are ongoing to recover and secure the platform.
