Reliable criminal justice data on the number of intentional homicide victims in Nigeria are not generally available. Moreover, existing data are often patchy and diverging, illustrating the uncertainty surrounding the number of intentional homicide victims. Data provided by the Nigeria Police Force indicate that there were 2,712 and 2,861 homicides in 2012 and 2013, respectively. However, according to the Federal Ministry of Justice, these data are incomplete and comprise only those areas of the country that reported on homicide. A report published recently by the National Bureau of Statistics put the number of “murders” in 2017 at 3,219.a An alternative source is modelled estimates based on public health data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO)22. In 2013, WHO published an estimate of 33,817 homicide victims for 2012, which would mean a homicide rate of 20 per 100,000 population. The following year, WHO revised this estimate down to 17,059, which would mean a rate of 10.1.

In 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics published prison statistics indicating that from 2013 to 2016 a total of 33,057 persons, or an average of 8,264 per year, were imprisoned for allegedly committing “murder”. Other entities try to capture homicide data through detailed monitoring of media reports. For example, according to reports collected by Nigeria Watch, the number of reported homicides in 2016 was 4,127, which was considered a strongly underreported figure.bIn short, the actual number of homicides and the homicide rate in Nigeria are largely unknown.

To find out more about homicide in Nigeria, UNODC, in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria, made use of an ongoing large-scale household survey that is representative of the country’s population of 186 million (2015).cThe survey was conducted in April–May 2016 and covered 33,067 households selected using probabilistic sampling in all 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. Drawing on the experience of other countries that have included questions on homicide in victimization surveys, a module on homicide was tested in the pilot survey and eventually included in the full household survey. The module asked a randomly selected adult member of a household about any occurrences of violent deaths in the household over the previous three years. Appropriate safeguards were included in the interview to ensure that only victims of intentional homicide were counted (as opposed to unintentional deaths, accidents and suicides), and that these victims were also members of the household during the period in question.

The results of the survey provide strong evidence that the level of lethal violence in Nigeria is likely to be higher than commonly assumed. On the basis of the survey sample, the annual homicide rate of Nigeria in the period 2013–2016 was estimated at 34 per 100,000 population, corresponding to around 64,000 victims of intentional homicide annually.e Thanks to its large sample size, the survey allows for further disaggregation (but within wider margins of error), namely by the country’s six large zones and by the three main types of intentional homicide. The total homicide rate was highest in two northern zones (North-East: 79 per 100,000 population; North-Central: 65) and lowest in the South-West (4.4). By type of intentional homicide, most reported killings fell into the category “terrorist attacks” (a rate of 20.9 per 100,000 population), with high rates also reported in the case of “criminal attacks” (9.1) and “personal conflicts” (4.4). The homicide rate related to terrorist attacks was highest (around 51 per 100,000 population) in the North-Central and North-East zones (it is precisely these areas that are severely affected by terrorist attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram; in the North-Central zone there is also a growing number of confrontations between herders and farmers). The highest homicide rate related to criminal attacks was found in the North-East (22 per 100,000 population), followed by the North-West (10), South-South (9) and North-Central (9) zones.

One question surrounding the validity of this estimate of intentional homicides is whether responding household members understood the questions correctly and excluded unintentional homicides and other deaths from their answer. The fact that 43 per cent of victims were reported as having been killed with firearms and a further 13 per cent with explosive weapons (including bomb attacks), while the rest were reported as having been killed with knives or other or unknown means, does, however, suggest that the information collected is credible. In addition, the demographic distribution of the homicide victims (84 per cent male; 46 per cent of all victims, male and female, being under the age of 30, with a further 32 per cent aged between 30 and 44) is in line with that observed in other countries with high homicide rates and lends further credibility to the validity of the estimate. The estimated homicide rate of 34 per 100,000 population provides an initial indication of the magnitude of intentional homicide in Nigeria. Because of the characteristics of sample surveys, this may be a conservative or lower-boundary estimate. In this case, for example, the survey omitted victims who lived in single-person households (around 3 per cent of the population), victims who lived in closed settings, such as refugee camps, foster homes or prisons, and victims who lived in households with no surviving household members who could be interviewed. Other groups not covered by the survey were those who were not included in the original sample frame of the survey (e.g. homeless people or people who had moved abroad between the reference period and the time of the survey). In view of these limitations, the high estimated homicide rate obtained from this survey in Nigeria makes it clear that more research and improved data collection for criminal justice statistics are urgently needed in countries with low levels of data coverage in order to determine more accurately the actual level of lethal violence and devise better strategies for tackling such violence.

source: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/gsh/Booklet2.pdf

North West have now overtaken the North East

this analysis is bullshit and hogwash.

imagine the terrorist attack homicide rate in the northwest is lower than the north Central despite massive case and reported killings by bandits ravaging villages on a steady there.
secondly the criminal attach homicide rate in south south is lower than southeast despite the level of cult killings in Edo and portharcourt.

UN are good in dishing out rubbish as report..

The total homicide rate was highest in two northern zones (North-East: 79 per 100,000 population; North-Central: 65) and lowest in the South-West (4.4).

The highest homicide rate related to criminal attacks was found in the North-East (22 per 100,000 population), followed by the North-West (10), South-South (9) and North-Central (9) zones.

Undisputed Northern Nigeria

Monogamy:





Undisputed Northern Nigeria

criminal attack homicide is quite highest in the south south region and we both know so forget this useless analysis.

besides it's good you now recognize the north Central as north when it comes to bad news but middlebelt when it's comes to political permutations.

my benue people, I sorry for una because it's obvious you people are the ones seen as the weaklings.
e go clear for una eyes soonest.

Amaechi2023:
criminal attack homicide is quite highest in the south south region and we both know so forget this useless analysis.

besides it's good you now recognize the north Central as north when it comes to bad news but middlebelt when it's comes to political permutations.

my benue people, I sorry for una because it's obvious you people are the ones seen as the weaklings.
e go clear for una eyes soonest.

Tbh,I no understand you

What is 2013-2016 data doing in 2021?

Old data. We need a recent update from 2015-2021

Biafrannuke:
What is 2013-2016 data doing in 2021?

Because some people think it makes their region look safer than that of the 'competition'....that's why they went and dragged out 2013-2016 data in 2021! It's all about dick measuring!

SE and SW there brother are very dangerous ..