ABUJA, Nigeria — Kidnappers across Nigeria demanded more than N48 billion in ransom payments between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a new report by SBM Intelligence, a geopolitical research firm.
The report, titled Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry, revealed that while ransom demands reached staggering levels, only N2.57 billion was actually paid.
In the same period, at least 4,722 people were abducted in 997 separate incidents, and 762 were killed.
“Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis has evolved into a lucrative criminal enterprise, with N2.56 billion ($1.66 million) confirmed in ransom payments and 4,722 civilians abducted in just one year,” the report stated.
The study found that the Northwest remains the most violent region, while the Southeast and South-South are experiencing more targeted religious abductions and financial extortion.
The report highlighted that while ransom amounts in naira have sharply increased, their dollar equivalent has fallen because of the currency’s devaluation.
In 2022, N653.7 million was paid, amounting to $1.13 million.
By 2024, payments rose to N1.05 billion but equalled only about $655,000.
The latest figures show N2.56 billion paid — worth $1.66 million.
“This significant divergence between the NGN and USD amounts reflects the ongoing devaluation of the Nigerian currency,” SBM said, adding that perpetrators now demand higher sums in naira to offset declining purchasing power.
The report noted that kidnapping is still most prevalent in northern states.
Katsina recorded the highest number of incidents, 131, representing 13.1 percent of the national total.
Zamfara had the highest number of victims, with 1,203 people abducted, accounting for 25.4 percent of the total.
Other states with high numbers of incidents included Kaduna (123), Zamfara (113), and Niger (40).
Delta, with 49 incidents, was the only southern state among the top five.
“This means that the most kidnap-infested state in the South accounts for a little less than 5% of the whole, making the kidnap crisis a predominantly northern issue,” SBM said.
According to the report, kidnappers became increasingly audacious during the period under review.
The largest single ransom demand — N30 billion — was made during the abduction of Chidimma and Precious Enuma, along with their aunt, Anwuri Oko Ye, in Delta State’s Ukwuani local government area in March 2025.
That case alone accounted for 62.5 percent of the total ransom demanded nationwide.
The report urged urgent and coordinated action from the government, warning that Nigeria risks entrenching kidnapping as a self-sustaining national industry.
“Unless security forces dismantle these networks and address root causes — poverty, unemployment, and weak law enforcement — the cycle of kidnappings, ransoms, and deaths will continue unchecked, leaving ordinary Nigerians in perpetual fear,” the report said.
SBM recommended disrupting kidnappers’ financial networks through advanced tracing technologies and stabilising the economy to reduce recruitment pools.
“But without coordinated strategies targeting both the crime’s profitability and its socioeconomic drivers, Nigeria risks entrenching kidnapping as a grim national industry, one that perpetuates poverty, undermines recovery, and leaves citizens hostage to a failing system,” it warned.
