Over 6,800 Nigerians were killed in the first half of 2025, a figure highlighting the country’s worsening security crisis, Engineer Mustapha Kazeem Lusty said while delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Annual Lecture and Awards Ceremony of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) in Ikeja.
Titled “Harnessing Technological Innovations for Crime Prevention and Control in Nigeria,” Lusty’s presentation called for a complete overhaul of the nation’s security architecture through the deployment of advanced technological systems capable of detecting, preventing, and disrupting crime in real time.
Addressing security stakeholders, including representatives of the Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other stakeholders, Lusty warned that traditional approaches were no longer sufficient.
He cited additional statistics: over 5,400 people abducted in the same period, and in March 2025 alone, 179 deaths, 115 injuries, and 217 kidnappings were recorded within just two weeks. The Nigeria Violent Conflict Database shows that banditry accounted for nearly 75% of all kidnapping victims in 2024, while National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data records 51.9 million criminal incidents between 2023 and 2024, with ransom payments costing an estimated N2.2 trillion.
Lusty said the rising death toll and insecurity had eroded public trust in security institutions, pushing citizens toward self-help. To reverse the trend, he proposed a six-step framework, including AI-powered early warning systems, a National Intelligent Vision Centre, encrypted community reporting platforms, deployment of surveillance drones and body-worn cameras, secure communication networks, and strengthened digital financial monitoring.
He stressed that localisation of technology, stronger forensic and cyber capabilities, joint intelligence dashboards, and transparent public security reporting were essential for sustainable reform.
While acknowledging that technology alone cannot solve the root causes of insecurity, Lusty emphasised that combining innovation with strong institutions, community engagement, and ethical governance could significantly strengthen Nigeria’s fight against terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping.
