Mohammed Adamu, acting inspector-general of police, says at least 1,071 persons lost their lives in crime-related cases across the country in the first quarter of 2019.
Speaking during the quarterly northern traditional rulers’ council meeting held on Tuesday in Kaduna, Adamu said the crime statistics showed that between January and April, at least 685 persons were kidnapped across the country.
He said 767 of the persons were killed in the north.
Adamu said with 436, north-west topped the death list while north-central came second with 250 and the south-south followed with 130 deaths.
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He said Zamfara recorded with 203 murder cases, topping the national prevalence rate, next to Kaduna with 112 reported cases while 90 people were killed in Benue state.
According to him, most of the murder cases recorded in the worth were linked to banditry and communal violence.
In relation to banditry, he said, a total of 175 deaths were reported between January and April this year with Zamfara state topping the list with 104 reported cases, followed by Katsina state with 21 killed by bandits and Sokoto state with 19 cases.
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On kidnappings, the IGP said 546 or 79.8 per cent of the national total were recorded in the three northern geopolitical zones.
He said the highest zonal prevalence rate occurred in the north-west where 365 persons were reportedly kidnapped within the period under review.
“This is followed by the north-central geopolitical zone where 145 persons were kidnapped. It is pertinent to mention that Zamfara has the highest national kidnap rate with 281 victims in what has been directly linked to the activities of bandits in the state,” he said.
“This is followed by Kogi and Niger states where 65 and 51 persons, respectively were kidnapped within the period.”
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