KIDNAPPERS ABDUCT 4,722 PEOPLE ACROSS NIGERIA IN ONE YEAR, DEMANDED N48BN RANSOM, N2.56BN PAID – REPORT

KIDNAPPERS ABDUCT 4,722 PEOPLE ACROSS NIGERIA IN ONE YEAR, DEMANDED N48BN RANSOM, N2.56BN PAID – REPORT

Kidnappers across Nigeria demanded a total of N48 billion in ransom between July 2024 and June 2025, a new report by SB Morgen Intelligence has revealed.

The report, titled “Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry,” revealed that kidnappers have grown increasingly audacious this year, demanding staggering sums for ransom. Of the N48,009,590,000 total sought, the highest ransom stemmed from the March 15, 2025 abduction of Chidimma and Precious Enuma, along with their aunt, Anwuri Oko Ye, in Ebedei Ukwuole community, Ukwuani Local Government Area, Delta State.

“Meanwhile, the 2025 data paints an alarming macroeconomic picture: while ransom payments in naira reach record highs (₦2.56 billion paid against ₦48 billion demanded), their dwindling dollar value (just $1.66 million) exposes an industry cannibalising itself,” the report said.

The report also pointed to cases where huge sums were actually paid. “We see the same single incident carrying the whole can be seen in the ransom paid: Borno ranks the highest in ransom paid, but just one case bumps the state up the rankings: the N766 million that was paid to the kidnappers of Justice Haruna Mshelia of the Borno State High Court, who was abducted in September 2024. His kidnappers got the exact amount they demanded.”

“That is 29.8% of the entire ransom paid across the country. Also, what this means is that a designated terror group–Boko Haram–got the largest share of ransom paid in this period.”

“This is not unique to the Northeast. In Kwara, where N124 million was paid as ransom, N100 million or 80% of the total was paid to the newly minted Mahmuda sect, an Islamist group with ties to Boko Haram and whose operations now span at least five local government areas in Kwara and parts of Niger.”

The report further cited a specific case: “In May 2025, a prominent petrol dealer, Alhaji Abbas, and his manager, Abubakar Issa, were abducted in Gbugbu, Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State by the group who demanded N200 million and got the full N100 million they negotiated for.”

“The implication is this: known Islamist terror groups got 33.7% of the ransom paid in the period under review, blurring the line between ideology and convention.”

Regionally, the report revealed that kidnappers in the South West demanded N1.556 billion, while N1 billion was demanded in the South East. In the South South, ransom demands reached N32.3 billion, North Central N4.9 billion, North West N7.2 billion, and North East N970 million.

Payments were lower compared to demands, with N115.5 million paid in the South West, N157.5 million in the South East, N259.3 million in the South South, N547.4 million in the North Central, N694 million in the North West, and N792 million in the North East.

Overall, SBM Intelligence reported that N2.56 billion ($1.66 million) was paid in ransom, while 4,722 civilians were abducted during the one-year period under review.

The findings come amid growing public concern about rising insecurity across the country, with government assurances yet to translate into concrete action to curb abductions and killings.

It said, “Between July 2024 and June 2025, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry. At least 4,722 people were abducted in 997 incidents, and at least 762 were killed. Kidnappers demanded roughly ₦48 billion and secured ₦2.57 billion (about $1.66 million), showing the growing divergence between naira and dollar values as devaluation erodes purchasing power.

“Whereas ₦653.7 million in 2022 equated to approximately $1.13 million, the far larger sums now extracted yield only a modest rise in dollar terms, prompting criminals to inflate naira demands.”