By Uzair Adam
Nigeria lost an estimated N2.2 trillion to ransom payments between May 2023 and April 2024 — an amount higher than the country’s 2024 defence budget — according to the 8th Nigeria SDG 16 Shadow Report released by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International (TI) Nigeria.
The report, titled “Leaving No One Behind: Anti-Corruption, Right to Information, and Justice for All,” was unveiled during a side event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
At the launch, CISLAC’s Executive Director and Head of TI Nigeria, Comrade Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), warned that the country is “trapped in a dangerous cycle of corruption, weak institutions, and worsening insecurity,” which could derail its chances of meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
He described kidnapping for ransom as fully “commercialised,” revealing that more than 2.23 million incidents were recorded within the one-year period, with payments amounting to N2.2 trillion — about US $1.4 billion.
Rafsanjani noted that this figure surpasses Nigeria’s entire 2024 defence allocation, stressing that insecurity has been effectively “privatised” at the cost of national stability.
He also linked governance failures to political impunity, pointing out that many leaders routinely ignore constitutional requirements to declare their assets before the Code of Conduct Bureau.
According to him, such disregard erodes public trust and undermines anti-corruption efforts, while some politicians divert taxpayers’ money to luxury properties in Nigeria and abroad, fueling illicit financial flows.
The report further raised alarm over opaque asset recovery processes, allegations against judicial figures, irregularities in the electoral commission, and weak vetting of political appointees — warning that democratic institutions are increasingly viewed as compromised.
Examples cited include the arrest of Katsina whistleblower Mubarak Bello after he exposed police payroll fraud, and a UK Tribunal ruling against Chief Mike Ozekhome and his son in a case involving a property transfer linked to General Jeremiah Useni.
It also referenced allegations of luxury property purchases in the United States linked to Nigeria’s FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
On fiscal transparency, the report highlighted Nigeria’s poor scores in the 2024 Open Budget Survey (31/100) and Freedom of Information Act compliance (11.4%), while noting that the Open Treasury Portal has become inactive.
It also identified procurement fraud, vote-buying, campaign finance violations, and repression of civic space as persisting threats.
Rafsanjani described the report as both “a mirror and a roadmap,” stressing that Nigeria risks missing the 2030 goals not because of weak laws but due to a lack of political will.
He called for stronger institutions, an open civic space, and true respect for the rule of law to ensure that “no one is left behind.”