The Department of State Services, DSS, has interrogated the Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeniran Adeyemi over the release of a controversial survey report on ransom payments in Nigeria.
According to authoritative sources, the DSS is scrutinizing the methodology and data used in the report.
Recall that the report had claimed that ransom payments had reached alarming levels in the country.
Following the report, Nigerians have experienced grave concern.
The Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
The report disclosed that Nigerians paid an estimated total of N2.23trn as ransom to kidnappers between the periods of May 2023 and April 2024.
According to the report, 65 percent of households affected by kidnapping incidents resorted to paying ransoms to secure the release of victims.
It maintained that on average, each household paid N2.67 million per incident.
The survey revealed that an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded across Nigerian households in the reference period.
According to the survey, North-West region had the highest incidence of crime, with 14.4 million cases reported. The region is followed by the North-Central with 8.8 million incidents.
However, sources at the Bureau told BusinessDay that contrary to reports, the Statistician General was not arrested. They maintained that he was only invited for questioning which he honoured.
“The Statistician General wasn’t arrested. Although people in authority are not happy about the report. But claims that the SG was arrested is false.”
“He was only invited for questioning and was allowed to go that same yesterday,” another source said.
Recall that a day after the report was released, the NBS disclosed that its official website had been hacked. Though it stated that it was working to restore it.
Statement by the Bureau said, “The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) wishes to inform the public that its website has been compromised. Our team is actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality.
“We advise the public to disregard any messages or reports published on the website until further notice. Thank you for your understanding.”
Source: BusinessDay
Follow us for more news on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U