Crime and security rank at the top of the most important problems that Nigerians want the government to address, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows.

In growing numbers, citizens report feeling unsafe in their neighbourhoods and their homes. Most respondents see abductions and kidnappings as a serious and increasing problem in the country, and a majority say the police are doing a poor job on this issue.

The Key findings of the survey shows Crime and security  at (41%) outrank economic management (39%), unemployment (35%), and electricity (34%) at the top of the list of most important problems that Nigerians want their government to address.

Majorities of Nigerians say they felt unsafe while walking in their neighbourhood (61%) and feared crime in their home (51%) at least once during the previous year. Both majorities have increased significantly since 2020.

Most Nigerians (84%) are concerned about abductions and kidnappings, including 65% who say they are a “very serious” problem

And three-fourths (74%) of citizens say the number of abductions or kidnappings of citizens in the country has increased over the past year.

Meanwhile, almost six in 10 Nigerians (58%) rate the handling of kidnappings and abductions by the police as “fairly bad” or “very bad”

Afrobarometer surveys Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.

The Afrobarometer team in Nigeria, led by NOIPolls, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,600 adult citizens in March 2022.

A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Nigeria in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2020.