The recently published Africa Organised Crime Index 2023 – compiled by the Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organised Crime (Enact) project – ranks Nigeria second, with Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) topping the continental charts when it comes to the scourge of organised crime.
According to the report, “the most pervasive criminal market in Africa was human trafficking.”
“Over the past five years, criminality across Africa has steadily increased and shows no sign of slowing down. Human trafficking remains a serious challenge; the cocaine markets have spiked in East, West and Southern Africa; and financial crimes are endemic in many regions,” the report says.
This is the third edition of the index, which has been published every two years since 2019. The rankings are based on a scale of zero to 10, and Nigeria’s 2023 overall “criminality score” is 7.28 (up from 7.15 in 2021).
The Enact project is implemented by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in partnership with Interpol and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime. Fifteen illicit activities are ranked with “criminal market scores”. These include human trafficking, human smuggling, arms trafficking, extortion and protection racketeering, and financial crime.
On cyber-dependent crimes, “Nigeria (8.0), is recognised as an epicentre for cybercrimes in Africa and globally”, the report read.
Nigeria and Mali both ranked highest levels for kidnapping for ransom.
Nigeria scored 8 on extortion, 8.5 in arms trafficking and 8.5 in trading counterfeit goods.
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