The recently released Africa Organised Crime Index 2023, crafted by the Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organised Crime (Enact) project, delivers concerning findings, placing Nigeria in the second position.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo leads the continental charts in battling the pervasive issue of organized crime. The report identifies human trafficking as the most prevalent criminal market in Africa, emphasizing a steady increase in criminality across the continent over the past five years.
The third edition of the index, employing a scale of zero to 10, assigns Nigeria an overall "criminality score" of 7.28 for 2023, reflecting a slight uptick from 7.15 in 2021. Notably, the Enact project, executed by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in collaboration with Interpol and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, examines fifteen illicit activities, ranging from human trafficking to cyber-dependent crimes.
The report particularly highlights Nigeria's recognition as a cybercrime epicenter, scoring 8.0 in this category, both in Africa and globally. This revelation unveils critical challenges demanding attention to address the multifaceted nature of organised crime within Nigeria.
