ABSTRACT

The many effects of crime form part of its nature, yet these effects have received little research attention in Nigeria. This study examined how the nature of a crime influences reporting among victims in Lagos, Nigeria. It combined quantitative and qualitative methods and collected data from 948 respondents drawn from the three senatorial districts of Lagos through a multistage sampling procedure. The quantitative data were analysed at three levels, and the qualitative data were content analysed. The findings showed that more crime (52.2%) went unreported than was reported (47.8%), and the nature of crime was not significantly related to reporting (χ², p > 0.05). The study therefore concludes that reporting is shaped by factors other than the type of offence, and it urges government to include reporting education in the school curriculum in order to build a more inclusive reporting regime.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The nature of a crime refers to the form taken by any criminal act that can cause significant physical, financial or material loss to a victim. Its impact is best judged by the victim's own perception of how serious the consequences were and how long the harm lasted. In this sense, the seriousness of a crime is given meaning largely through the victim's subjective assessment of what victimisation cost them. Crime is not new in Nigeria or anywhere else, but its forms, rhythm and techniques change quickly, and new methods can alter the character of offences. In Lagos, a study of traffic robbery covering 2015 to 2023 found that offenders commonly dispossess victims of phones and other valuables, sometimes with guns, and that victims' experiences of the crime are driven by fear (Peter & Tade, 2025).

The consequences of such experiences extend beyond the immediate loss. Crime and the fear of it provoke negative reactions and traumatic experiences among primary, secondary and vicarious victims alike (Iloma et al., 2023). How a victim responds in the aftermath, and in particular whether the matter is brought to the police, shapes the protection and emotional support that the victim receives. In their review of the literature on victims' decisions to call the police, Xie and Baumer (2019) point out that a decision not to report can limit this support and can distort our understanding of how crime is distributed across society.

The scale of non-reporting in Nigeria is large. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) estimated in its Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024 that Nigerian households experienced about 51.9 million criminal incidents between May 2023 and April 2024, yet only 25.7% of households that experienced at least one crime reported it to the police. Reporting was higher for robbery, at 36.3%, and lower for sexual crimes, at 22.7% (NBS, 2024, as reported by BusinessDay). The survey identified lack of trust in law enforcement as the main reason for low reporting, together with beliefs that the police would do nothing, fear of reprisal, and lack of proof. Other work points the same way. Ike and Jidong (2023) found perceived fear, lack of trust and limited awareness of redress avenues among Nigerian victims who had dealings with the police, while Aborisade (2023) examined how survivors of rape experience the process of reporting to the police and why so many such crimes remain hidden.

Official crime statistics are therefore a poor guide to what victims actually experience. High totals do not reveal the nature of the offences behind them or what happened to the victims afterwards. Lagos, as the commercial centre of Nigeria and one of its most densely populated cities, is a particularly important place to study this question. Violent victimisation, robbery and fear of crime have all been documented there (Peter & Tade, 2025), and the influence of the nature of a crime on victims' reporting practices has received comparatively little attention. This study addresses that gap by examining reporting among crime victims in Lagos and the observable impact that reporting, or the failure to report, has on them.

The study is guided by three questions: (i) What is the nature of crime that predicts victims' crime reporting practices? (ii) How does the nature of crime influence victims' crime reporting practices? (iii) How can the influence of the nature of crime on victims' reporting practices be minimised in the study area?

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Societies everywhere must contend with the consequences of crime, which include loss of life and property, fear, political instability and victimisation by offenders. In Nigeria, the effects on individual victims are rarely documented in a way that connects the nature of the offence, the decision to report and the victim's experience after reporting.

Several difficulties arise at the point of reporting. First, a crime that is brought to a law enforcement officer does not enter the statistics unless it is recorded in a form that allows it to be counted, so minor offences in particular can be under-counted where officers are overloaded or do not regard them as worth recording. Second, victims often decide not to report at all. According to the NBS survey, the main reasons include distrust of the police, belief that nothing will be done, fear of reprisal, lack of proof, and a view that the incident was too minor or a private matter (NBS, 2024, as reported by BusinessDay). Third, reporting may not lead to the outcome victims expect. A study of victims in Ilorin that followed cases from reporting to trial and ruling concluded that the criminal justice system protects offenders under the law while paying too little attention to what victims want (Salihu et al., 2021). Fourth, victims may lack knowledge of the law and of the channels open to them, particularly when they have a complaint about police conduct (Ike & Jidong, 2023).

The type of crime adds further complexity. Sexual offences, for example, are reported far less often than robbery (NBS, 2024, as reported by BusinessDay), and survivors describe their experiences of reporting to the police in ways that explain why many choose silence (Aborisade, 2023). Whether the nature of a crime in fact predicts reporting among victims in Lagos, and what impact reporting has on victims, are questions that existing studies have not settled. Without such evidence, policies meant to encourage reporting and to support victims rest on assumptions. This study was designed to provide that evidence.

1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to examine carefully the effect on victims of behaviour that is contrary to formal law in society, with attention to reporting. The specific objectives are to:

1. assess the actual level of crime as against the level of crime reported;
2. determine the influence of the nature of crime on victims' reporting practices;
3. highlight the impact of reporting, and of failure to report, on victims of crime;
4. make practical suggestions for reducing the negative effects of crime on victims and for improving reporting; and
5. identify the actors, including offenders, institutions and the wider community, whose responsibilities shape criminal activity and how it is reported, and suggest how offenders may be dealt with in ways that support correction and restore victims' confidence in the justice system.

1.4 Research Hypothesis

H₀: The nature of crime has no significant relationship with victims' crime reporting in Lagos.

H₁: The nature of crime has a significant relationship with victims' crime reporting in Lagos.

1.5 Scope of the Study

The study is concerned mainly with the effect of crime reporting on victims, and with the way proper investigation of criminal activities affects them, among residents of Lagos State. The study covers the three senatorial districts of the state. To keep the work accurate and manageable, it is restricted to a sample selected from the wider population in a way that fairly represents it.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study contributes to knowledge of criminal activity and of how its harmful effects on victims may be reduced. It gives policy makers, the police and other criminal justice agencies evidence on why victims report or do not report, which they can use to improve police recording, build public trust and design programmes for victim support.

It will also serve as a basis for further investigation of crime reporting and of the psychological and social effects on victims, an area in which Nigerian research remains limited. Finally, it draws attention to weaknesses in the process of crime reporting and suggests ways in which these services can be improved, including the introduction of reporting education in schools.

References

Aborisade, R. A. (2023). On the “darkness of dark figure” of sexual crimes: Survivors' rape reporting experiences with the Nigerian police. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 73, 100576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2023.100576

Ike, T. J., & Jidong, D. E. (2023). Victims' experiences of crime, police behaviour and complaint avenues for reporting police misconduct in Nigeria: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/18335330.2022.2150091

Iloma, D. O., Nnam, M. U., Effiong, J. E., Eteng, M. J., Okechukwu, G.-P., & Ajah, B. O. (2023). Exploring socio-demographic factors, avoiding being a victim and fear of crime in a Nigerian university. Security Journal, 36, 201–220. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-022-00336-3

National Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Crime experience and security perception survey 2024. (Findings as reported by BusinessDay: https://businessday.ng/?p=919332)

Peter, I. G., & Tade, O. (2025). Nature of traffic robbery victimisation experience in Lagos. Gusau International Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 8(1), 234–250. https://doi.org/10.57233/gijmss.v8i1.13

Salihu, H. A., Isiaka, M., Balogun, S. O., & Ibrahim, A. K. (2021). From crime reporting to trial and ruling: An investigation into victim's assessment of the Nigerian criminal justice system. FUOYE Journal of Criminology and Security Studies, 1(1), 52–62.

Xie, M., & Baumer, E. P. (2019). Crime victims' decisions to call the police: Past research and new directions. Annual Review of Criminology, 2, 217–240. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011518-024748