President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will in October unveil Nigeria’s revised National Counter-Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST), following a comprehensive review aimed at tackling evolving security threats across the country.
The National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the third-quarter stakeholders’ meeting of NACTEST.
He explained that the revised strategy document has been finalised and submitted to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, for approval ahead of its formal launch. According to him, the new framework is designed to strengthen the nation’s capacity to combat terrorism and related crimes through a more adaptive and inclusive security approach.
Meanwhile, fresh data has highlighted the alarming rise of Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom economy. A new report by SBM Intelligence revealed that Nigerians paid at least ₦2.56 billion between July 2024 and June 2025 to secure the release of abducted relatives and community members. The report recorded 4,722 abductions during the period — a 144 per cent increase in ransom payments compared to ₦1.05 billion paid the previous year.
Titled Locust Business: The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry – A 2025 Update, the study underscores how kidnapping has evolved into a highly organised and entrenched criminal enterprise. SBM documented 997 incidents nationwide within the year under review, in which 762 people were killed, including 563 civilians.
The North-West remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for 62 per cent of victims. Zamfara alone recorded 1,203 abductions, while Katsina suffered the highest number of incidents (131) and the most civilian fatalities. Kaduna also reported 629 cases within the period.
The report further noted that abductors demanded a staggering ₦48 billion in ransom, although only 5.35 per cent of the amount was paid. It highlighted how naira depreciation has worsened the burden on families. While ₦1.05 billion ransom paid in 2024 was worth $655,000, the ₦2.56 billion paid in 2025 translated to just $1.66 million, forcing kidnappers to raise demands in local currency to offset inflation and exchange rate losses.
SBM warned that this convergence of criminal enterprise and extremist ideology has transformed kidnapping into both a security challenge and a funding model for insurgency, deepening insecurity in the country.
With President Tinubu set to unveil the revised counter-terrorism strategy, security experts say Nigeria’s success will depend not only on military strength but also on tackling the economic undercurrents that sustain organised crime.
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