Knives were used in 73% of sexual assault cases – NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed these figures in its Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024, a report that details the prevalence of crimes and offences in Nigeria between May 2023 and April 2024.

“Nationwide, an estimated 1.4 million experienced sexual offences, which occurred mostly in someone else’s home (27.7%), followed by the victim’s home (22.2%).”

Only 22.7% of sexual assaults were reported to the police.

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Out of every 100,000 people in Nigeria, about 800 of them were victims of sexual offences within that period. Females accounted for the gender that experienced the highest cases of sexual offences, with 1,300 out of every 100,000 females being victims of sexual offences.

The report said, “The results show that sexual offences, including rape, were 800 per 100,000 individuals. About 1,300/100,000 females and 200/100,000 males experienced sexual assault during the reference period. Disaggregation by age group shows that sexual assault is significantly higher among those aged 15-24 years, with about 1,200/100,000 prevalence.”

More than half of the recorded sexual assault cases involved the use of force, and less than 30% occurred with the use of weapons. From the survey, the NBS also discovered that knives were used in 73% of cases of sexual assault.

It added, “Eighty-four (84) per cent of sexual assault incidents involved the use of physical force, and 28.1% occurred with the use of a weapon. Also, the findings show that knives were used in 73% of sexual assault cases, while 31.3% involved the use of guns.”