No fewer than 7,825 people were kidnapped across Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026, with at least N7.78 billion paid as ransom to secure the release of victims, a new report by security research firm, SBM Intelligence, has revealed.
The report also found that the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram accounted for more than 90 per cent of the ransom paid during the period, collecting about N7 billion from only eight kidnapping incidents.
The findings were contained in SBM Intelligence’s report titled ‘The Capture of Nigeria’s Kidnap Economy’, released on Wednesday.
According to the report, 1,411 kidnapping incidents were recorded nationwide during the one-year period, while at least 963 people, including 68 security personnel, were killed.
SBM Intelligence said that although the total ransom demanded by kidnappers fell significantly from N48 billion in the preceding year to N22.9 billion, the actual amount paid by victims and their families rose sharply.
The amount paid, according to the report, increased from N2.56 billion to N7.78 billion.
“This is not because kidnappers are getting better at negotiating,” the report stated.
“One group, the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram, collected 90 per cent of all ransom paid from just eight incidents.”
The report attributed the remaining N719 million in ransom payments to kidnappers classified as unaffiliated groups, who were linked to 146 incidents.
Two kidnapping cases involving ransom payments totalling N53 million were attributed to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), while armed Fulani herdsmen were linked to three incidents that generated N5 million in ransom.
Boko Haram Linked to Major Mass Abductions
Among the incidents responsible for the huge ransom proceeds attributed to Boko Haram were the abduction of more than 300 students from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, and the kidnapping of 416 people, including children, from Ngoshe community in Borno State.
SBM Intelligence said the group received N5 billion for the release of the Ngoshe victims and another N2 billion for the release of the abducted students in Papiri.
The report noted that the findings supported previous investigations into the mass abduction of the Papiri students, which linked the attack to a Boko Haram faction.
North Accounts for 85% of Kidnapping Cases
The report showed that kidnapping remained heavily concentrated in northern Nigeria, which accounted for 85 per cent of all recorded incidents and 96 per cent of civilian deaths during the period under review.
SBM Intelligence said the pattern remained largely unchanged when incidents were broken down according to the country’s six geopolitical zones.
The North-west recorded the highest number of incidents with 680 cases, followed by the North-central with 309 and the North-east with 211.
In southern Nigeria, the South-south recorded the highest number of incidents with 89 cases, followed by the South-west with 79 and the South-east with 43.
“The North–South disparity does not change when the numbers are placed in the context of geopolitical zones,” the report said.
It noted that kidnapping in northern Nigeria had increasingly become intertwined with insurgency, banditry and communal conflicts, while southern states faced a mixture of threats, including cult-related violence, separatist-related attacks, piracy and jihadist activities.
Zamfara Tops Kidnapping Chart
Zamfara recorded the highest number of kidnapping incidents nationwide, with 236 cases involving 1,921 victims and 211 deaths.
Katsina followed with 187 incidents, during which 559 people were abducted and 101 killed.
Sokoto recorded 179 incidents involving 1,157 victims and 166 deaths, while Kaduna recorded 134 cases involving 814 abductees and 130 deaths.
In the North-east, Borno recorded 55 incidents involving 892 abductees and 24 deaths, making it the most affected state in the region.
In the North-central, Kwara recorded the highest number of incidents in the zone, while Kogi recorded 85 cases involving 412 abductees and 20 deaths.
Niger recorded 68 incidents involving 496 victims and 54 deaths, while the Federal Capital Territory recorded 18 incidents involving 45 abductees and one death.
Edo emerged as the most affected state in the South-south, recording 37 incidents involving 132 kidnapped persons and six deaths.
In the South-west, Ondo recorded the highest number of cases with 31 incidents involving 81 abductees and six deaths, while Oyo recorded 21 incidents involving 85 victims and five deaths.
Security Response ‘Overwhelmed’
Despite the 1,411 kidnapping incidents recorded during the period, the report said security agencies carried out only 302 anti-kidnapping operations nationwide.
The highest number of operations was recorded in Benue with 26, followed by Katsina and Edo with 25 each, Kaduna with 24, and Delta and Plateau with 23 operations each.
The report said security agencies in the South-south appeared to have adopted a more aggressive approach to anti-kidnapping operations than those operating in some of the worst-hit northern states.
“By contrast, Zamfara, which leads the country in overall incidents, victims, and civilian deaths, recorded only four anti-kidnap operations all year,” the report stated.
It added that the disparity did not necessarily suggest that security agencies were inactive but reflected the scale of the security crisis confronting states heavily affected by banditry and insurgency.
In all, SBM Intelligence said 179 terrorists were killed during anti-kidnapping and other security operations, while 68 security personnel lost their lives in gun battles during the period under review.
The report underscores the growing economic dimension of Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis, with armed groups increasingly relying on ransom payments to finance their operations despite continued security interventions across the country.
