By Annette Ikponmwonba | August 28, 2026
Key Points
• 7,825 people were abducted in 1,713 kidnapping and kidnap-related incidents between July 2025 and June 2026.
• At least 1,142 people were reported killed during the period under review.
• About N7.8bn was paid as ransom to kidnappers within one year.
• Ransom demanded by kidnappers fell from N48bn to N22.9bn, while actual payments increased from N2.56bn to N7.78bn.
• The ransom collection rate increased from 5.35 per cent to 34 per cent.
• Boko Haram’s Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad faction reportedly accounted for 90 per cent of ransom payments, collecting about N7bn from eight incidents.
• Two major abductions accounted for almost the entire amount, including the reported N5bn ransom for 416 captives abducted from Ngoshe, Borno State, and N2bn for 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s School, Papiri, Niger State.
• Zamfara recorded 92 mass abductions, while Sokoto recorded 76 during the period.
Main Story
Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis has taken on an increasingly commercial dimension, with 7,825 people abducted and about N7.8bn paid in ransom within one year, according to a report by SBM Intelligence, The report, titled The Capture of the Kidnap Economy, covered the period between July 2025 and June 2026 and documented 1,713 kidnapping and kidnap-related incidents. At least 1,142 people were also reported killed during the period, highlighting the severe human cost of the country’s worsening security crisis.
The financial dimension of the crisis is particularly concerning. Although the total ransom demanded by kidnappers declined from N48bn to N22.9bn, the amount actually paid increased sharply from N2.56bn to N7.78bn. This pushed the ransom collection rate from 5.35 per cent to 34 per cent, SBM Intelligence 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 N7bn from only eight incidents.
Two major abductions reportedly accounted for almost the entire amount. These included the abduction of 416 people from Ngoshe in Borno State, for which N5bn was reportedly paid, and the abduction of 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s School, Papiri, Niger State, which reportedly involved a N2bn ransom payment.
The report identified mass abduction as the most frequent method used by kidnappers during the period. Zamfara recorded 92 mass abductions, while Sokoto recorded 76, The resurgence of school kidnappings has raised concerns beyond the immediate safety of students and teachers. SBM Intelligence warned that repeated attacks could have broader consequences for education, agriculture and public confidence.
The report also challenged the assumption that paying ransom guarantees the safe return of hostages. It noted that in at least six cases, victims were reportedly killed even after ransom had been paid, The findings have renewed concerns about the effectiveness of ransom negotiations and the possibility that payments are helping criminal organisations expand their operations.
SBM Intelligence recommended disrupting the financial flows sustaining insurgency while also addressing the economic conditions that provide recruits to criminal groups. The organisation warned that without a coordinated strategy, kidnapping could become permanently entrenched as both a criminal industry and a funding mechanism for violent organisations.
The Issues
The central issue is the emergence of kidnapping as a profitable criminal economy. The billions of naira being paid to kidnappers provide an incentive for criminal groups to continue abducting people and give them resources to sustain their operations, Ransom payments also create concerns about the financing of terrorism and organised crime. Security experts argue that money obtained from victims’ families can be used to purchase weapons, provide logistics, recruit fighters and strengthen criminal networks.
However, stopping ransom payments is not straightforward. Families whose relatives are in captivity are often placed under enormous pressure by kidnappers. Their immediate concern is usually the survival of their loved ones, making it difficult to expect families to refuse payment without a credible alternative from the authorities.
The increase in school abductions presents another major concern. Parents may become reluctant to send their children to school in areas affected by kidnapping, while teachers and education workers may also feel increasingly unsafe. This could deepen educational disruption in already vulnerable communities.
The killing of hostages after ransom has been paid is another worrying development. It suggests that even compliance with kidnappers’ demands cannot always guarantee the safety of victims and raises questions about the reliability of ransom negotiations, The crisis is also placing enormous pressure on Nigeria’s security forces. The reported deaths of military personnel, including senior officers, demonstrate the dangers faced by troops fighting terrorists, bandits and kidnappers across several parts of the country.
What’s Being Said
SBM Intelligence warned that Nigeria risks entrenching kidnapping as a criminal industry and a funding mechanism for groups that pose a major threat to national stability, The organisation argued that the government needs a coordinated strategy that targets both the profitability of kidnapping and the socioeconomic conditions that encourage people to join criminal groups.
Security expert Jackson Ojo described Nigeria as an “unsafe territory” and blamed the worsening kidnapping crisis partly on what he described as the lackadaisical attitude of some government officials, Ojo argued that inadequate resistance from the state had allowed terrorists, bandits and kidnappers to transform kidnapping into a major revenue-generating industry.
He also expressed concern about the increasing sophistication and confidence of criminal groups. According to him, there have been cases where bandits allegedly issued advance notices to communities and demanded specific items, including motorcycles and call cards, as ransom, Ojo further raised concerns over the number of military personnel killed in the fight against terrorists and bandits. He said Nigeria had lost several senior officers, including generals and colonels, alongside numerous majors, captains and other personnel.
Former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory and security consultant Lawrence Alobi also criticised the growing ransom economy, Alobi described the huge ransom payments as exploitative and a major driver of organised crime. He argued that money paid to kidnappers was being used to acquire more weapons and strengthen criminal networks.
According to him, ransom payments embolden criminal groups and encourage them to continue their activities because kidnapping becomes financially rewarding, Alobi advocated measures to stop ransom payments, arguing that the practice had turned kidnapping into a commercial venture. However, he acknowledged the difficult position of families whose relatives are being held hostage, noting that families often pay because their priority is to save their loved ones.
What’s Next
The government and security agencies are likely to face increasing pressure to dismantle the financial structures supporting kidnapping and terrorism. This will require greater attention to how ransom money is transferred, stored and converted into weapons, logistics and other resources, Security agencies will also need to improve intelligence gathering and rapid-response operations. If families are expected to resist ransom demands, authorities will need to provide credible alternatives capable of securing hostages before their lives are endangered.
Greater protection for schools and vulnerable communities will also be necessary, particularly in areas experiencing repeated mass abductions. Rebuilding public confidence will depend heavily on whether communities believe that the government can protect them effectively.
Beyond security operations, authorities will have to address the economic and social conditions that make vulnerable individuals susceptible to recruitment by criminal groups. Without tackling those underlying conditions, security operations alone may not permanently weaken the kidnapping economy.
Bottom Line
Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis is no longer just a security problem; it is increasingly a financial ecosystem that generates billions of naira for criminal and terrorist groups, The N7.8bn reportedly paid in ransom within one year demonstrates the scale of the financial incentive behind abduction. As long as kidnapping remains profitable, criminal groups have a powerful reason to continue the cycle.
The challenge for government is therefore to protect victims, weaken the financial networks behind kidnapping, improve the capacity of security agencies and address the conditions that fuel recruitment, Breaking the cycle will require more than stopping kidnappers on the ground. It will require making kidnapping less profitable while giving families and communities confidence that the state can protect and rescue victims without leaving them dependent on ransom payments.
