Its Executive Director, Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani, disclosed this during a media engagement in Kaduna.
An advocacy group, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, has revealed that about 4,556 persons were violently killed while 2,860 were kidnapped in 2020 in Nigeria.
Its Executive Director, Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani, disclosed this during a media engagement in Kaduna.
According to him, the figures represented an increase of 43 and 100 per cent to those of 2019. He stated that there is a high probability of recording a high increase in the crime rate in 2021.
Rafsanjani said: “The Global Rights Nigeria Country office, in its Mass Atrocities Casualties Tracking Report, revealed that about 4,556 persons died in 2020 from “violent related killings”, a number which represents a spike of about 43% from 3188 persons in 2019.
“According to the US-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Nigeria witnessed a total of 2,860 kidnappings in 2020, which was up from 1,386 in 2019, an increase of over 100%. Sadly, this year is on track to reach new heights in violent crime.
“Insecurity and gaps in the law enforcement system are inadvertently interlinked. The criminal justice system plays a crucial role in the maintenance of law and order.
“The task of the criminal justice system is carried out through the means of detecting, apprehending, prosecuting, adjudicating, and sanctioning both citizens and non-citizens of the state who violate the established laws governing the state or country.
“There is a need to effectively train these officials to meet with current trends in the global fight 21st-century crimes.
“Officers of all spheres of the criminal justice system should be trained regularly on new methods of security, administration etc. to improve competence and keep officers up to date.
“Ideally, this training should not stop at the entry-level, but provisions should also be made for continuous training and retraining to keep up with contemporary trends.
“There is no magic in the world that can be done to ensure optimal performance of the criminal justice officers if the proper equipment is not in place for them to use.
“The maintenance of the vehicles should be a priority for the government. Funds need to be adequately and timely released to maintain the gadgets and vehicles.”