DSS arrests NBS CEO over controversial ransom survey report, assure website status not compromised
Operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), during a raid at his office on Wednesday, as confirmed by News Point Nigeria.
The arrest is linked to the recent release of the Bureau’s Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report, which disclosed troubling findings about the state of security in Nigeria.
The report, published earlier this week, revealed that Nigerians collectively paid approximately N2.23 trillion in ransom over the past year, specifically between May 2023 and April 2024.
This staggering amount reflects the grim reality faced by households affected by kidnappings, underscoring the escalating threat of criminal activities across the nation.
Furthermore, the survey indicated that around 51.89 million crime incidents were recorded among Nigerian households during the specified period.
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The survey showed that the North-West region had the highest incidence of crime, with 14.4 million cases reported, followed by the North-Central region with 8.8 million incidents.
But a senior official at the Bureau, who pleaded anonymity told News Point Nigeria that Mr Adeniran was arrested by the operatives of the DSS, Wednesday morning in his office , less than 24 hours after the release of the report.
“As we speak, the CEO is still in DSS custody, the operatives invaded our headquarters, took away our computers and the crime survey documents and also arrested Mr Adeniran on Wednesday”, the source said.
“The CEO added about N2bn to our 2024 budget for the new Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey report, and we got govt approval for the funds but after the conclusion of the report, which took a bout seven months, instead of liaising with the security agencies and the supervisory finance minister, Atiku Bagudu – the CEO went on to publish the report independently.
“We were told the president and the minister were not happy with the report because the survey was deemed to have embarrassed the govt and the security agencies especially in their fight against insecurity in the country.
“After the publication of the report, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu summoned a meeting with the finance minister and some top security officials in the country and afterwards there was an instruction to shut down the website and then the DSS raided our office and arrested Mr Adeniran”, the source added.
Recall, NBS had announced that its official website has been compromised by unidentified hackers.
The Bureau disclosed this in a statement posted on the bureau’s official X (formerly Twitter) account Wednesday night.
The NBS urged the public to disregard any information or reports shared on its behalf from unofficial sources until the website is fully restored.
The NBS is the principal agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of statistical data in Nigeria.
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