Key points
- A Boko Haram faction collected about 90 per cent of ransom payments recorded in Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026, according to SBM Intelligence.
- Kidnappers demanded N22.856 billion during the period but received N7.779 billion, representing a 34 per cent collection rate.
- SBM recorded 7,825 people abducted in 1,411 kidnapping incidents, with 1,142 people killed during the period under review.
Main story
A faction of Boko Haram collected about 90 per cent of ransom payments recorded in Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026, despite being linked to only eight kidnapping incidents, according to a report by SBM Intelligence.
The research, titled The Capture of Nigeria’s Kidnap Economy: How One Terrorist Group Collected 90% of Nigeria’s Ransom Payments in a Single Year, found that kidnappers demanded N22.856 billion during the 12-month period but received N7.779 billion, representing a collection rate of 34 per cent.
SBM Intelligence said the amount demanded declined from N48 billion in the previous reporting cycle, while actual ransom payments increased from N2.56 billion to N7.779 billion.
According to the report, the increase was largely driven by a small number of large-scale abductions involving organised terrorist groups, rather than a general increase in ransom payments across kidnapping incidents.
The report, based on data available up to June 30, 2026, recorded 7,825 people abducted in 1,411 kidnapping incidents and 302 kidnap-related incidents, bringing the total number of incidents to 1,713.
At least 1,142 people were killed during the period under review.
SBM’s actor-level analysis showed that the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram and allied cells received N7.0015 billion, representing 90 per cent of the N7.779 billion in ransom payments recorded.
The faction demanded N9.205 billion across the eight incidents and received 76.1 per cent of the amount demanded.
In contrast, kidnappers and bandits categorised as conventional kidnappers accounted for 146 incidents and demanded N13.492 billion but received N719.4 million, representing a collection rate of 5.3 per cent.
Two mass abductions accounted for almost the entire amount collected by the Boko Haram faction.
In April 2026, 416 people were abducted from Ngoshe in Gwoza, Borno State. SBM reported that the group demanded N5 billion and received the full amount.
The second major payment followed the abduction of 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, in November 2025, with multiple intelligence sources cited by SBM placing the ransom paid at N2 billion.
Together, the two incidents generated N7 billion, representing almost 90 per cent of the total ransom recorded nationally.
The report said the Ngoshe incident was significant because the N5 billion demanded was also the amount eventually paid, marking the first time in SBM’s series that the highest ransom demanded and the highest ransom paid were the same amount.
The research also found that mass abductions had become a major feature of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis.
Of the 1,411 kidnapping incidents recorded, 396, representing 28.1 per cent, were mass abductions involving at least five victims.
Those incidents accounted for 6,222 victims, or 79.5 per cent of all people abducted during the period.
The Northwest recorded 267 of the 396 mass-abduction incidents, representing 67.4 per cent.
Zamfara recorded the highest number, with 92 mass abductions involving 1,722 victims, followed by Sokoto with 76 incidents involving 974 victims and Kaduna with 47 incidents involving 671 victims.
The report also identified a resurgence in school kidnappings, including the abduction of the 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s School in Papiri and schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State.
SBM said the consequences of insecurity extended beyond ransom payments, as kidnapping could lead to school closures, disruption of education, displacement of farmers and businesses, and loss of agricultural production.
The research also found that payment of ransom did not always guarantee the release or survival of hostages.
It identified at least six incidents during the reporting period in which victims were killed after ransom had been paid.
SBM also documented at least six cases in which people delivering ransom money were themselves abducted.
In addition, the report recorded 14 incidents in which kidnappers demanded goods either instead of money or alongside cash, including motorcycles, rice, food items, fuel, smartphones, recharge cards and vehicles.
The geographic distribution of kidnapping remained heavily concentrated in northern Nigeria. SBM recorded 7,334 victims in the North, compared with 491 in the South, meaning the North accounted for 93.7 per cent of all people abducted.
The Northwest recorded 680 kidnapping incidents, followed by North-Central with 309 and the Northeast with 211. The three northern zones accounted for 85.1 per cent of all reported kidnapping incidents.
At state level, Zamfara remained the most affected, recording 236 kidnapping incidents involving 1,921 victims. Katsina followed with 187 incidents and 559 victims, while Sokoto recorded 179 incidents involving 1,157 victims. Kaduna recorded 134 incidents involving 814 victims.
SBM said the concentration of victims in Zamfara was notable because the state recorded only four anti-kidnap operations during the year.
Borno accounted for the largest share of ransom payments, receiving N5.0545 billion, or 65 per cent of the total. Niger followed with N2 billion, representing 25.7 per cent.
Kwara accounted for N278.3 million, while Kaduna and Sokoto accounted for N64 million and N58 million respectively. The five states accounted for 95.8 per cent of all ransom collected.
The report noted a substantial difference between ransom demanded and ransom actually collected by different groups.
Unaffiliated kidnappers, including cases attributed to bandits, accounted for 59 per cent of ransom demanded but only 9.2 per cent of ransom paid. They demanded N13.492 billion but collected N719.4 million.
The Boko Haram JAS faction accounted for 40.3 per cent of ransom demanded but 90 per cent of actual payments, with N9.205 billion in demands producing N7.0015 billion in payments.
SBM said the figures showed that Nigeria’s kidnapping economy was highly dispersed when measured by ransom demands but heavily concentrated when measured by the money actually paid.
The research firm warned that the N7.779 billion recorded should be regarded as a conservative minimum because the researchers confirmed ransom payments in another 16 incidents but could not verify the amounts.
It therefore said ransom had changed hands in at least 86 incidents, although only 70 could be assigned a monetary value.
SBM also found that the value of ransom payments in dollar terms had increased significantly. The N7.779 billion recorded in the 2026 cycle was equivalent to about 5.7 million dollars, compared with approximately 1.66 million dollars from N2.56 billion in the previous cycle.
The report recorded 1,142 deaths associated with the kidnapping crisis during the period. Civilians accounted for 895 deaths, while 179 kidnappers and 68 security personnel were also killed.
SBM recorded 302 anti-kidnap operations across the country, with Benue recording 26, Katsina and Edo 25 each, Kaduna 24, and Delta and Plateau 23 each.
The firm said the disparity between the scale of kidnapping and the number of security operations in states such as Zamfara raised concerns about the capacity of security agencies to respond effectively.
The issues
The report highlights a shift from a fragmented kidnapping economy to one in which organised terrorist groups can generate substantial revenue from mass abductions.
The sharp rise in the ransom collection rate, from 5.35 per cent in the previous cycle to 34 per cent, was driven largely by two major payments rather than an increase in the number of ransom-paying incidents.
SBM also raised concerns about the wider economic consequences of kidnapping, including disruption to education and agriculture, reduced investment, higher security costs and the diversion of household and business resources into ransom payments.
The firm warned that where ransom reaches terrorist organisations, kidnapping can become a financing mechanism for continued insurgency and violence.
What’s being said
“The 2026 figures, however, were driven by several large mass-abduction incidents in which organised groups possessed enough leverage to secure substantial payments.” — SBM Intelligence
“The actual amount paid by victims’ families is likely higher than ₦7.779 billion.” — SBM Intelligence
“Kidnapping is increasingly capable of functioning as a funding mechanism for terrorist organisations, rather than merely a source of income for criminal gangs.” — SBM Intelligence
What’s next
SBM Intelligence recommended greater attention to the financial flows generated by kidnapping, including measures to trace and disrupt ransom payments and prevent kidnapping from becoming a sustainable source of terrorist financing.
It also called for economic interventions to address conditions that provide potential recruits for armed groups.
The research firm said tackling the immediate criminal activity alongside the socioeconomic conditions surrounding armed groups would be necessary to disrupt the kidnapping economy.
Bottom line
SBM Intelligence’s findings show that while ransom demands declined during the year, actual payments increased sharply, largely because a Boko Haram faction secured major payments from two mass abductions.
The report suggests that Nigeria’s kidnapping challenge is increasingly about more than criminal activity, with organised terrorist groups able to use mass abductions to generate significant funds for their operations.
