About 7,825 people were kidnapped in the year between July 2025 and June 2026, with at least N7.78 billion paid in ransom, SBM Intelligence said in its recent report on the issue. The report also states that Boko Haram pocketed over 90 per cent of the ransom paid during the period.
The research firm stated this in a new report titled ‘The Capture of Nigeria’s Kidnap Economy’, released on 27 August.
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The report, which covers incidents between July 2025 and June 2026, notes that a total of 1,411 kidnapping incidents were recorded. It added that about 963 people were killed, including 68 security agents.
A dwindled ransom demand, a huge amount
While noting that the ransom demanded decreased from N48 billion in the preceding year to N22.9 billion, the firm said the actual amount paid more than “tripled” from N2.56 billion to N7.78 billion.
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The uptick, according to the report, was made possible by a single jihadi group—the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), otherwise known as Boko Haram—which got 90 per cent (N7 billion) of the total N7.78 billion ransom in eight incidents.
“This is not because kidnappers are getting better at negotiating,” it said. “One group, the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram, collected 90% of all ransom paid from just eight incidents.”
The report states that other terror groups, which it generally categorised as “unaffiliated kidnappers”, got the remaining 10 per cent of the ransom (N719 million) in 146 incidents. Two cases fetching a N53 million ransom were attributed to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram breakaway faction. The report also linked armed Fulani herdsmen to three cases, resulting in a N5 million ransom.
Among the incidents that fetched Boko Haram such a huge amount in ransom, the report states, were the mass abduction of over 300 students from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, and the abduction of 416 people, including children, taken from Ngoshe community in Borno State.
While the terror group got N5 billion to release the Ngoshe captives, it pocketed N2 billion in ransom for the release of the Papiri students, the report says.
The firm’s report corroborated an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES and The New Humanitarian, which found that the Sadiku-led Boko Haram faction was responsible for the Papiri abduction, with observers saying the group got more than a billion naira in ransom before releasing the captives in two batches.
All-round
The kidnapping industry has now spread across every part of the country, although the North accounted for 85 per cent of the kidnap cases recorded, with 96 per cent of civilian deaths during the period under review.
“The North–South disparity does not change when the numbers are placed in the context of geopolitical zones,” it said, explaining that the North-west leads the count with 680 incidents, followed by the North-central with 309 and the North-east with 211.
The South-south recorded the highest number of kidnapping incidents (89) in southern Nigeria, it says, adding that it was closely followed by the South-west, which recorded 79 incidents, and the South-east, with 43 cases.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that each region has a mix of security threats. In the northern region, where there are existing ethnoreligious tensions, banditry has blended with insurgency, while piracy, anti-separatist attacks, cultism and spiralling jihadi attacks are springing up in the southern region.
A figure of terror
Across states in these geopolitical zones, the SBM Intelligence report shows a breakdown of the kidnap-for-ransom crisis.
In the North-west region, Zamfara topped the table, recording 236 incidents involving 1,921 victims and 211 deaths. It was followed by banditry-ravaged Katsina, where 187 incidents resulted in the abduction of 559 people, 101 of whom were killed.
Sokoto came next with 179 incidents involving 1,157 kidnapped victims and 166 deaths. It was followed by Kaduna, which recorded 134 incidents in which 814 people were abducted and 130 killed.
While Kebbi recorded 52 incidents involving 216 people and 33 deaths, 109 people were kidnapped and five others killed in 22 incidents recorded in Kano. Jigawa recorded one incident involving three kidnapped people.
In the most insurgency-plagued states in the North-east, Borno took the lead with 55 incidents involving 892 captives and 24 deaths. Adamawa came next, recording 21 incidents involving 77 abduction victims and 13 deaths. Yobe recorded five incidents, which resulted in the abduction of 18 people.
The North-east also faces the challenge of banditry and communal clashes. Eighteen incidents were recorded in Bauchi, involving 34 abductees and 11 deaths. Gombe recorded nine incidents, which led to the abduction of 22 people and 14 deaths. In Taraba, 14 people were kidnapped and one other killed in just four incidents.
In the North-central, Kwara recorded the highest number of incidents, with 265 people kidnapped and 50 killed. In Kogi, where incessant highway abductions have been normalised, 412 people were reported kidnapped and 20 others killed in 85 incidents.
Niger recorded 68 incidents involving 496 abducted victims and 54 deaths. Nasarawa recorded 12 incidents, with 31 people kidnapped and two killed. Plateau recorded 26 incidents involving 104 kidnapped people and 12 deaths, while the Federal Capital Territory recorded 18 incidents involving 45 abductees and one death. Benue recorded 32 incidents, with 10 people abducted and three killed.
In the South-east, Abia recorded one incident involving two abducted people. Anambra recorded five incidents involving seven abductees and three deaths, while Ebonyi recorded six incidents involving 14 kidnapped people and one death. Enugu recorded seven incidents involving 14 kidnapped people and two deaths, while Imo recorded nine incidents involving 26 abducted people and two deaths.
In the South-west, Oyo recorded 21 incidents involving 85 kidnapped people and five deaths. Lagos recorded one incident involving one abducted person, while Osun recorded four incidents involving five abductees and one death. Ondo recorded 31 incidents involving 81 abducted people and six deaths. Ekiti recorded 10 incidents involving 39 abducted people and three deaths, while Ogun recorded nine incidents involving 26 abducted people.
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In the South-south, Akwa Ibom recorded one incident involving five abducted people, while no incident was recorded in Bayelsa. Cross River recorded five incidents involving 38 kidnapped people. Delta recorded nine incidents involving 10 kidnapped people and three deaths, while Edo recorded 37 incidents involving 132 abducted people and six deaths. Rivers recorded two incidents involving six kidnapped people.
An uneven show of resistance
The report also documented the state’s efforts to confront the threat.
The report shows that while the number of kidnap incidents stood at 1,411, there were only 302 anti-kidnapping operations.
“The operational tempo shows regional variations, with the highest concentration of activity occurring in Benue (26), Katsina (25), Edo (25), Kaduna (24), Delta (23), and Plateau (23),” it says.
With the South-South alone accounting for the highest number of anti-kidnapping operations, the report argues that the region’s police commands and other local security forces were “more willing and able to go on the offensive than their counterparts in the North’s worst-hit theatres.”
“By contrast, Zamfara, which leads the country in overall incidents, victims, and civilian deaths, recorded only four anti-kidnap operations all year,” it highlights, adding that the stark “mismatch” does not show an absence of efforts but reflects how much the crisis has overwhelmed the local security response.
In all, the report says that 179 terrorists were killed, while 68 security agents lost their lives in gunfights during the period.
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