Onome Amuge
Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom economy has ballooned to unprecedented levels, with citizens paying at least N2.56 billion between July 2024 and June 2025 to secure the release of abducted relatives and community members, according to a new report.
The figure represents a 144 per cent year-on-year increase compared with N1.05 billion reported in the previous 12-month period, SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research consultancy, said in its annual review of kidnapping economics.
While criminal groups demanded N48 billion in ransom during the period, only 5.35 per cent was ultimately paid. In total, 4,722 Nigerians were kidnapped in 997 incidents, and 762 people were killed in abduction-related violence, highlighting how kidnapping has evolved into both a deadly security threat and a parallel economy.
The report stated that in 2024, families paid N1.05 billion, worth about $655,000 at prevailing exchange rates. By 2025, ransom payments more than doubled in naira terms, yet their dollar value rose to $1.66 million due to the currency’s depreciation.
Families frequently negotiate payments down from initial, often extravagant demands. In one case in Delta State, kidnappers demanded N30 billion for three abducted relatives ,a single incident that accounted for nearly two-thirds of the nationwide ransom tally. Actual payouts are typically supplemented with food, fuel, or basic goods when cash is scarce.
Northwest at the epicentre
According to the report, the Northwest remains the epicentre of Nigeria’s kidnap economy, accounting for 62 per cent of victims. Zamfara recorded 1,203 abductions, followed by Kaduna (629) and Katsina (566). Katsina also suffered the highest civilian fatalities, underscoring the deadly dimension of ransom-seeking in the region.
High-profile abductions further distort totals. The kidnapping of Justice Haruna Mshelia in Borno led to a ransom payout of N766 million, almost 30 per cent of the nationwide total.
Insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates now rely on kidnappings as a revenue stream, taking roughly one-third of ransom proceeds, according to SBM. This blurs the line between organised crime and ideological insurgency, turning kidnapping into both a financial model and a weapon of destabilisation.
A hidden tax on communities
The report showed that for ordinary Nigerians, ransom inflation has created what analysts describe as a hidden tax on communities. Families often deplete life savings, sell farmland, or borrow at usurious rates to raise funds. In some rural areas, payments are crowd-funded at village level, pooling scarce resources to rescue abducted members.
“This system of community-funded ransoms is unsustainable. It drains local economies, weakens social safety nets, and perpetuates a cycle of vulnerability,” SBM said in its report.
Beyond the human toll, the financial outflows underscore the erosion of state authority in large swathes of the country. Despite federal and state governments spending billions of naira annually on security operations, the kidnapping economy continues to thrive, fuelled by poverty, unemployment, and the absence of effective policing.
Analysts warn that ransom payments, while saving lives in the short term, entrench the business model of kidnapping. Yet families and communities face little alternative, given the weak record of security agencies in securing timely rescue.
With ransom payments at record highs and kidnappers increasingly sophisticated in their operations, Nigeria faces a growing dilemma on how to choke off the financial lifeline sustaining both criminal gangs and insurgents, without worsening the plight of victims caught in the middle.
