BY FRONTLINE  REPORTERS

No fewer than 7,825 people were abducted in 1,713 kidnapping and related incidents across Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026, while at least 1,142 people were killed, a report by SBM Intelligence has revealed.

The report, titled The Capture of the Kidnap Economy, also disclosed that victims’ families and other negotiators paid approximately N7.8 billion in ransom to kidnappers during the period under review.

According to the report, although the total ransom demanded by kidnappers fell from N48 billion to N22.9 billion, actual ransom payments increased from N2.56 billion to N7.78 billion.

This represents a sharp rise in the ransom collection rate, from 5.35 per cent to 34 per cent, according to SBM Intelligence.

The report attributed about 90 per cent of the ransom paid to the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad faction of Boko Haram, which reportedly collected N7 billion from only eight incidents.

Two major abductions accounted for almost the entire amount. These included the reported payment of N5 billion for 416 people abducted in Ngoshe, Borno State, and N2 billion for 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s School, Papiri, Niger State.

SBM Intelligence also found that mass abductions had become the most common mode of operation among kidnappers, with Zamfara recording 92 incidents and Sokoto 76 during the period.

It warned that the resurgence of school abductions, particularly the Papiri incident, could have far-reaching consequences for education, agriculture and public confidence.

The report further cautioned that payment of ransom did not guarantee the safe release of victims, noting that at least six hostages were killed even after ransom had been paid.

SBM Intelligence recommended measures to disrupt the financial networks sustaining insurgency and kidnapping, while addressing the economic conditions that provide recruits for criminal groups.

“Without a coordinated strategy that targets both the profitability of the crime and its roots, Nigeria risks entrenching kidnapping not merely as a criminal industry but as a funding mechanism for the very groups that most threaten its stability,” the report warned.

Security Experts Raise Alarm

Reacting to the findings, security expert Jackson Ojo described Nigeria as an “unsafe territory”, blaming the worsening kidnapping crisis partly on what he described as the lackadaisical attitude of some government officials.

Ojo said the failure of the state to mount sufficient resistance had enabled terrorists, bandits and kidnappers to transform abduction into a major revenue-generating enterprise.

“Due to the lackadaisical attitude of some persons in government, they have now helped the terrorists, the kidnappers, and the bandits to turn the kidnapping industry in Nigeria into one of the highest revenue-generating industries,” he said.

He stressed that the primary responsibility of government was to protect citizens, noting that Nigerians remained vulnerable while being legally restricted from bearing arms for self-defence.

Ojo also expressed concern over the growing sophistication and audacity of criminal groups, citing cases where bandits allegedly issued advance notices to communities and demanded specific items, including motorcycles and telephone recharge cards, as ransom.

He further raised concern over the number of military personnel killed while fighting terrorists and bandits, saying the loss of senior officers was becoming alarming.

“It has degenerated to the extent that we have lost about four generals, we have lost about three or four colonels, and countless numbers of majors, captains, and others,” he said.

Also reacting, a former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory and security consultant, Lawrence Alobi, described the huge ransom payments as exploitative and a major driver of organised crime.

Alobi said the money paid to kidnappers was being used to acquire more weapons and strengthen criminal networks.

“In fact, kidnapping has now become like a lucrative business for the huge amount of money that has been given to bandits,” he said.

He added that ransom payments emboldened criminal groups by providing them with resources to acquire more arms and expand their operations.

Alobi advocated measures to stop ransom payments, arguing that the practice had effectively turned kidnapping into a commercial venture.

He, however, acknowledged the difficult position of families whose relatives are held hostage, noting that many are compelled to pay because their primary concern is to save their loved ones.

“If it’s possible, the issue of ransom should not be paid to anybody,” he said, adding that families were often forced to pay because “the victim is always at the mercy of the family.”

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