A blazing report from the Global Organised Crime Index in this 2021 stirred the nation as Nigeria is ranked among the top 10 criminal markets for trafficking in people, firearms, illegal cannabis and heroin trade, fauna crimes, synthetic drugs and non-renewable resource crimes.
The index shows that the countries with the highest criminality levels are those experiencing conflict or fragility, commenting that such affected nations were mostly as a result of organised crime.
The report data has it that the Democratic Republic of Congo topped the list of the criminal markets with a score of 7.75, followed by Columbia 7.66; Myanmar 7.59; Mexico 7.56; Nigeria 7.15; Iran 7.10; Afghanistan 7.08; Iraq 7.05; Central African Republic 7.04 and Honduras 6.08.
Other high-scoring countries include Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, where conflicts have decimated the formal economies and resulted to general displacement and an influx of weapons.
The report was authored by the Institute for Security Studies and INTERPOL in affiliation with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime.
In conflict settings, the GOCI notes that states’ attention and capacities may be diverted to war efforts, leaving social, economic and security institutions weakened, while resilience to organised crime declines.
TrackNews Online covered that the lowest-scoring countries with better resilience and social safety include Tuvalu 1.54; Nauru 1.76; Sao Tome & Principe 1.78; Liechtenstein 1.88; Samoa 2.04; Vanuatu 2.20; Marshal Island 2.31; Kiribati 2.35; Luxembourg 2.36 and Monaco 2.43.
“In breaking down criminality and looking at the 10 criminal markets covered, the global average was slightly lower at 4.65, with human trafficking determined to be the most pervasive worldwide (with a global average of 5.58). Indeed, human trafficking features in the top five criminal markets of every continent in the world. After the trafficking of people, the illicit cannabis trade and arms trafficking were assessed to be the second and third most pervasive markets worldwide, with global averages of 5.10 and 4.92, respectively,” the statement mentioned.
The index observed that failure on the part of states to ensure safe environments and static economic livelihoods for millions of weak populations created conditions conducive to exploitation, as human traffickers exploit victims for profit both within national borders and abroad through sexual exploitation, forced labour/modern slavery, forced begging, organ trafficking and child soldier recruitment and also adding that the vast majority of victims are women and girls.
It affirmed that opportunities for human trafficking have increased with Internet technology, which provides both a ready online market and, simultaneously, the means to exploit people with greater anonymity, adding that human trafficking market is present in a wide range of contexts, from both stable countries to those in conflict, often overlapping with other criminal markets, such as human smuggling.
On the regional level, Asia leads in criminality, criminal markets, criminal actors and resilience followed by Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania
On the sub-regional level, East Africa leads in criminality followed by West Africa, Central Africa, Northern Africa and Southern Africa.
