New report ranks Nigeria 6th in the world for organised crime

Nigeria is ranked sixth in the world for organised crime, according to a 2023 Global Organized Crime Index report.

The report stated that Nigeria continues to face various security challenges, corruption and other criminal activities.

According to the survey done by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, the status of organised criminality in Nigeria increased by 0.13 points.

Nigeria scored 7.28 out of 10 points, which makes it the sixth in the world and second highest in Africa, behind the Democratic Republic of Congo (7.35) and ahead of South Africa (7.18).

Myanmar has the highest criminality score (8.15), followed by Colombia (7.75) and Mexico (7.57).

The report noted that “levels of criminality are increasing worldwide while resilience measures are falling short of meeting the threat.”

In the criminal actors category, Nigeria has 7.20 points, with an increase of 0.5, while it scored 8.50 points in the criminal network score.

“For the purpose of the Global Organized Crime Index, organised crime is defined as illegal activities conducted by groups or networks acting in concert, by engaging in violence, corruption or related activities in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or material benefit. Such activities may be carried out both within a country and transnationally.

“Drawing on a more comprehensive dataset and informed by the specialist knowledge of over 400 experts worldwide, the results of the 2023 Index offer a complex picture of the trajectory of organised crime, underscoring the intricacies in measuring this clandestine phenomenon,” the report stated.