The Africa Organized Crime Index 2023, compiled by the Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organized Crime (Enact) project, reports that Nigeria and Mali both ranked at the highest levels for kidnapping for ransom.
The Enact project revealed that Nigeria ranked second, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) topping the continental charts when it comes to the scourge of organized crime.
“The most pervasive criminal market in Africa was human trafficking, report disclosed.”
“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 Organized 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.
Nigeria scored 8 on extortion, 8.5 on arms trafficking, and 8.5 on trading counterfeit goods.
