Nigeria’s worsening security crisis has once again been laid bare as a new report revealed that at least 4,722 people were kidnapped between July 2024 and June 2025, with victims’ families paying ₦2.57 billion to secure their release.
The report, titled “Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry”, was released by geopolitical research firm SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence. It showed that while kidnappers demanded about ₦48 billion in ransom, they actually received ₦2.57 billion. Within the same period, at least 762 people lost their lives in kidnap-related attacks across the country.
According to SBM, kidnapping has now become one of Nigeria’s most lucrative criminal enterprises, fuelled by poverty, unemployment, and weak law enforcement.
“Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis has evolved into a thriving industry, with 4,722 civilians abducted and ₦2.56 billion ($1.66 million) confirmed in ransom payments in just one year,” the report noted.
Northwest worst hit
The report revealed that Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina States recorded the highest numbers of victims. Katsina topped the chart with 131 incidents (13.1% of cases), while Zamfara had the highest number of victims with 1,203 abducted residents (25.4% of the total).
Four of the five worst-affected states are in the north — Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Niger — while Delta State was the only southern state in the top five, accounting for less than 5% of nationwide cases.
Ransom demands skyrocketing
SBM said kidnappers have grown bolder, often making outrageous ransom requests. The most striking case occurred in Ukwuani LGA of Delta State on March 15, 2025, where kidnappers demanded ₦30 billion for the release of two sisters, Chidimma and Precious Enuma, and their aunt, Anwuri Oko Ye. That single demand represented 62.5% of all ransom requests nationwide during the year.
Rising naira payments, weaker dollar value
The report also highlighted how the naira’s depreciation has influenced ransom payments. While ₦653.7 million (about $1.13 million) was paid in 2022, the figure dropped to ₦302 million ($387,179) in 2023. In 2024, ransom payments rose sharply to ₦1.05 billion, but the dollar equivalent was only $655,000. The latest figures of ₦2.56 billion amount to about $1.66 million — a sharp naira increase, but still modest in dollar value.
Call for urgent action
SBM warned that unless security forces dismantle kidnapping networks and address root causes like poverty and unemployment, the crisis will continue to spiral.
The firm recommended disrupting kidnappers’ financial channels through advanced tracking technologies, alongside broader economic reforms to limit recruitment into criminal groups.
“Without coordinated strategies to cut off the profitability of kidnappings and address their socioeconomic drivers, Nigeria risks entrenching this crime as a grim national industry,” SBM cautioned.
“The time for half-measures has passed. Only by dismantling the ransom economy can Nigeria begin to reclaim security and restore citizens’ trust in the system.”
