Nigeria’s Kidnap-for-Ransom Economy Hits $5.8m as 7,825 People Are Abducted in One Year

Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has generated nearly $5.8 million in confirmed ransom payments in the past year, with thousands of people abducted and more than 1,100 killed, according to a new report by SBM Intelligence.

The security consultancy said 7,825 people were kidnapped between July 2025 and June 2026, representing a 66% increase from the previous year. At least 1,142 people were killed during the same period, while documented ransom payments rose more than threefold to 7.78 billion naira, or about $5.79 million.

SBM Intelligence said the figures were compiled from media reports, interviews and publicly available information. It warned that the actual value of ransom payments is likely to be higher because many families and organisations do not publicly disclose payments made to secure the release of victims.

The report found that kidnapping patterns vary across the country. While the northwest recorded more kidnapping incidents and victims, a faction of Boko Haram was responsible for about 90% of the recorded ransom payments in the northeast. The group was estimated to have received roughly 7 billion naira, largely from two mass abductions involving more than 300 victims each.

The findings come as Nigeria faces renewed concerns over mass abductions in the north. President Bola Tinubu has ordered security agencies to rescue as many as 600 civilians reportedly kidnapped during an attack in Niger State last week.

Kidnap-for-ransom gangs have increasingly targeted schools, rural communities and major roads, with victims sometimes held for weeks or months while their families negotiate for their release. The expanding criminal economy has also raised concerns about the ability of security agencies to protect civilians.

Education has been particularly affected. In November, 315 pupils and staff were abducted from a school in Papiri, Niger State, highlighting the continued vulnerability of schools more than a decade after the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction brought Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis to global attention.

“School abductions have resurged, with the Papiri attack reviving a tactic whose costs ripple through education, farming and public trust,” SBM Intelligence said in its report, linking the kidnapping crisis not only to security but also to wider damage to livelihoods and confidence in government.