Reporting a crime should be straightforward. You go to the police, make a statement, and expect them to investigate what happened.

For some Nigerians, the reality was very different. We spoke to Nigerians about what happened when they tried to report crimes. These are their stories.

David*, 22, M 

I once found myself at a police station over a family case, and what happened there was shocking. We were told we had to pay ₦150,000, but my aunt bargained with them down to ₦110,000. All the police did was invite the person involved to the station. Then, somehow, the person we reported paid the police, they closed the case immediately, and everyone was laughing together. I just sat there laughing because I couldn’t believe what I was watching.

Bode*, 21 (M)

I was about 15 when I remember my mum getting slapped by a man in our compound during an argument between the tenants. My uncle wanted to confront him, but people held him back, so he went to the police station to report it instead. The process was pretty straightforward. The man was called in, asked to write a statement, and had to pay for my mum’s treatment, which was less than ₦50,000 at the time. Not much came of the case after that, but at least the police followed up on the report.

Dayo*, 42 (F)

I was robbed at my mini supermarket in May 2025. The shop is close to a police station, so the police came to inspect the scene. I gave them CCTV footage of the robbery. They had enough information to at least try to identify the people who robbed me, but instead, they kept asking me for money to “mobilise” them.

I tried to make a fuss about their request, but they didn’t seem bothered at all. I eventually gave up when I realised they wouldn’t help without being paid.

Moses*, 32 (M) 

I got into a bus one day and somehow realised my phone had been stolen. I went to the police and asked if they could help me track it. I had to pay ₦5,000 just to lodge my statement, then another ₦18,000 to ‘mobilise’ the tracker. After that, the whole thing just kept snowballing. They told me recovering my phone depended on how much I followed up, which meant constantly calling, checking in, and paying more money whenever they asked.

Philip, 25 (M)

I was scammed of ₦300,000 and was blocked everywhere by the person who did it.

I went to the police to see if they could track their phone. When I got there, they told me phone tracking would cost ₦500,000.

I was trying to recover ₦300,000, but the police wanted ₦500,000 just to help me track the person. I found the entire thing ridiculous and left the station. I ended up not getting my money back or knowing who the scammer was.

Idowu*, 47 (M)

My car was almost stolen one night after two guys had already opened it and were going through it. A friend happened to pass by, recognised the car, and caught one of them after he lied about who owned it. We took him to the police station, where they locked him up and asked us to return the next morning. When I came back, they asked me for money to buy files and paper for my statement. After interrogating the suspect, he told them where the other guy was, so the police asked me for another ₦10,000 for fuel to go and arrest him. I just got up and left.

Banji*, 32 (M)

My house was robbed, and my laptop and phone were stolen, so I reported it to the police. They collected money just to take my statement and even asked me to name a suspect. I mentioned my neighbour, and they arrested him and told him I was the one who accused him. I eventually tracked my phone myself and went back to the station, asking the police to come with me to retrieve it. They told me to ‘leave it to God’, so I went alone. When I got there, the robbers told me the police had already called them.