Only 5 of every 10 stolen vehicles are recovered in Nigeria

Poor recovery of stolen vehicles in Nigeria has cost vehicle owners to lose about N1.8 billion between 2013 and 2015, the analysis of data on stolen and recovered vehicles has shown.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), shows that 2, 544 vehicles were stolen between 2013 and 2015, out of which 1,377 vehicles were recovered, and this brings the national recovery rate to 54 percent.

This means that the Nigerian institutions involved in the recovery of stolen vehicles have the ability to recover only 5 out of every 10 vehicles stolen in the country. And at an average price of N1.5 million per vehicle, the 1,167 stolen but not recovered vehicles amounted to N1.8 billion in loss to their owners.

Further analysis of the NBS data shows that while the nation’s stolen vehicle recovery capability is 5 out of 10 stolen vehicles, only 14 states were able to achieve better results than the national average.  Ekiti State topped the list while Kebbi State is at the bottom of the list. No data is available on Katsina and Kogi states.

During the period, 77 vehicles were stolen in Ekiti State, out of which 61 have been recovered, meaning that the police command in that state has the capacity to recover 8 out of every 10 stolen vehicles. Edo and Kaduna states’ police commands   have 76 percent and 75 percent recovery rates meaning that they too could recover 8 out of every 10 stolen vehicles in their states. Ogun and Plateau states police commands could also recover 7 out of every 10 vehicles stolen in their states.

Gombe, FCT Abuja, Zamfara, and Taraba states have their recovery rates ranging from 61 percent to 67 percent while for Jigawa, Bauchi, Kano, Cross River and Borno states, their recovery rates of stolen vehicles range from 55 percent to 59 percent.

Lagos, Nigeria’s primate city is also one of the states with poor stolen vehicle recovery capability. The text message sent to the PRO Lagos Police Command was not responded to before filling this story.

Others on the bottom of the table are Ondo, Oyo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Kebbi states. During the period under review, 54 vehicles were stolen in Ondo State out of which only 15 vehicles were recovered. It was 44 vehicles that were stolen in Oyo State out of which 11 were recovered. Thirty-nine (39) vehicles were stolen in Bayelsa out of which only 8 were recovered. In Akwa Ibom state, 53 vehicles were stolen between 2013 and 2015 out of which only 10 were recovered while in Kebbi State, out of 36 stolen vehicles, only 5 vehicles were recovered.

Nigerians registered 303,274 new number plates and obtained 1.15 million driver’ s licences in 2015 with Lagos, Abuja, Delta, Rivers, Oyo, Ogun, Kano, Kaduna and Enugu states the topmost destinations.

But Toyin Bawala, managing director and chief executive officer, Arctic Spatials Limited, a GIS and vehicle tracking firm has urged vehicle owners to embrace vehicle tracking and comprehensive insurance policy as this will greatly boost recovery efforts in the event a vehicle is stolen.

“Vehicles having comprehensive insurance policy are usually tracked as this helps insurance companies to minimise claims. So, if a theft occurs and the vehicle owner immediately notifies the insurance company, the recovery rate is as high as 99 percent”, Bawala said.

However, Sulaiman Mudasiru, an insurance expert said that the benefits a client enjoys under a comprehensive insurance policy vary across firms.

“Vehicle tracking is an added service in comprehensive insurance policy, only that the conditions attached vary from firm to firm. Your vehicle must not be worth less than N2 million in some insurance firms whereas its worth has to be N3 million in other firms before they will track it”, Mudasiru said.