Nigeria kidnap ransoms en · MD
Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom industry continues its relentless growth. According to a report released on August 26 by Lagos-based security consultancy SBM Intelligence, criminal and jihadist groups operating in the country collected around 7.78 billion naira, roughly €5 million, in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026. That figure more than tripled compared with the 2.56 billion naira recorded over the equivalent period a year earlier.
The report, titled « The Capture of the Kidnap Economy, » documents at least 7,825 people abducted across 1,713 kidnapping or kidnap-related incidents during the period under review, a 66 percent increase year-on-year. At least 1,142 deaths were also reported in connection with these abductions. SBM Intelligence notes that these figures, compiled from media accounts, interviews and publicly available information, likely understate the true scale of the problem, since many victims or their families choose not to disclose ransoms paid, even though such payments are illegal under Nigerian law.
A disproportionate share of this criminal windfall reportedly went to a faction of Boko Haram, which is estimated to have pocketed around 90 percent of the ransoms recorded for kidnappings carried out in the country’s northeast. That group alone is believed to have collected close to €4.6 million from two mass abductions, each involving more than 300 victims. One of the most striking episodes dates back to the night of November 20-21, 2025, when armed men stormed a school, a pattern of attack that recurred several times over the course of the year in the country’s northern states.
Security experts warn of the lasting consequences of this criminal economy. Billions of naira flowing to armed groups are strengthening their capacity to acquire weapons and fund violent operations, fueling a vicious cycle in which every payment encourages further kidnappings. Some ransom negotiators, who operate informally on behalf of victims’ families, acknowledge themselves that these payments feed the phenomenon, even as they insist they often remain the only way to secure a relative’s release without putting their life at risk.
Nigerian authorities officially continue to refuse any payment to kidnappers, with the law providing for prison sentences of up to fifteen years for anyone who pays a ransom. In practice, however, several recent cases, including the release of nearly 230 schoolchildren and staff from a Catholic school in February, have brought to light informal payments attributed to intermediaries close to the authorities, underscoring the persistent gap between official rhetoric and realities on the ground