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Nigeria has continued to perform woefully in every global ranking. In the recently released Numbeo’s Global Crime Index 2026, Nigeria ranks 13th, placing it among countries with the highest perceived crime levels. Countries are ranked based on perceived crime levels, with higher scores indicating greater safety concerns. Nigeria has a crime index score of 66.2.
According to the index, Papua New Guinea, with a crime index of 80.9, tops the list of crime-infested countries. Among the top 10 most dangerous countries in 2026 are Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan, South Africa, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Syria, Jamaica and Guyana. These countries contend with persistent struggles and violent crimes.
The five countries with the least crime index include Oman, Macao (China), Taiwan, Qatar, Andorra, and the United Arab Emirates. A total of 150 countries were assessed.
In Africa, the top six spots for highest crime are all in South African cities. They include Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Cape Town. Other notable high-crime cities include Lagos, Nigeria; Windhoek, Namibia; Harare, Zimbabwe; and Nairobi, Kenya.
Nigeria also performed poorly in the 2026 Global Terrorism Index. It ranks as the fourth most-terrorised country in the world. It had ranked eighth and sixth most-terrorised country globally in 2024 and 2025 respectively. In happiness ranking, the country performed badly, too.
Nigeria’s high crime perception is driven by cases of kidnapping and armed robbery, ongoing insurgency and banditry, urban crime in major cities and increasing cybercrime activities. Many Nigerians also reported concerns about safety, particularly at night.
On this year’s Palm Sunday, terrorists wreaked havoc in some parts of Plateau State. They killed, at least 30 people in Angwan Rukuba in Jos North Local Government Area. Many others were injured. In April last year, terrorists killed scores of people in Hurti, Josho, Daffo and some other communities in Bokkos LGA of Plateau State.
On Easter Sunday, terrorists killed 17 people at Mbalom community in Gwer East LGA of Benue State. Many houses were set ablaze. At Ariko community in Kachia LGA of Kaduna State, they killed seven people when they attacked ECWA Church and St. Augustine’s Catholic Church on the same Easter Sunday. Some other people were abducted.
At the Internally Displaced Persons Camp at Damasak and the Divisional Police Headquarters at Nganzai in Borno State, terrorists killed four police officers and one hunter. In a recent suicide bomb attack in Maiduguri, Borno State, about 23 people were killed and over 100 others injured.
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On April 9, Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists attacked a military base at Benisheikh in Kaga LGA of Borno State. They killed the commander of the 29th Task Force Brigade, Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, and many of his soldiers. Last year, ISWAP terrorists had similarly ambushed and killed Brigadier-General Musa Uba and some of his troops in Borno State.
On January 6, 2026, bandits attacked the National Park Service in Oloka Village, Oriire LGA of Oyo State. They killed five forest guards. On January 16 this year, gunmen killed a police officer and abducted a Chinese expatriate when they attacked Aqua Triton Company in Ogunmakin, near Ibadan in Oyo State.
Over 30 people were killed and many others kidnapped when bandits attacked a crowded market in Kasuwan Daji, Borgu LGA of Niger State, on January 3, 2026. Homes and the local market were also burnt and shops looted for food. Earlier on November 21, 2025, terrorists had attacked St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri in Agwara LGA of Niger State, abducting over 300 schoolchildren and 12 teachers.
There were similar attacks in Kwara and Kebbi states late last year. In the Kwara incident, two worshippers were killed while 38 others were abducted in a church. In Kebbi, 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko/Wasagu LGA, were abducted. The Vice-Principal of the school was killed. There are many other incidents.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, between May 2023 and April 2024, about 2.2 million Nigerians were kidnapped. Countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have frequently warned their citizens against travelling to Nigeria. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently linked illicit proceeds of crime to violent extremism in Nigeria. Proceeds from activities like illegal mining, drug trafficking, and kidnapping, are reportedly used to fund terror groups.
The situation in Nigeria prompted a coalition of 52 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to warn recently that Nigeria was on the brink of collapse. The CSOs identified eight areas of concern: insecurity and violence, banditry and food collapse, kidnapping epidemic, shrinking civic space, corruption and governance breakdown, economic hardship and inequality, threats to democracy and 2027 elections, as well as eroded judicial credibility.
We loathe the rising crime rate in Nigeria and urge the Federal Government to tackle the menace headlong. Government should also stop politicizing crime and address the crime situation in the country. Calling terrorists prodigal sons or brothers as was recently done by some security chiefs misses the point. There is need to rein in the sponsors of crime.
Soldiers should be adequately equipped and motivated to face the terrorists squarely. There is need to beef up intelligence and technology to be able to outmatch the terrorists wherever they may be. Nigeria cannot continue to lose precious lives of its citizens in this most horrendous manner.
