Kidnappers get N2.57bn ransom as Nigeria’s abduction economy booms

Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has hardened into a profitable criminal enterprise, generating at least N2.57 billion for armed groups in just one year, according to a new report by SBM Intelligence.

The report, The Year Ahead at an Inflection Point, estimates that between July 2024 and June 2025, kidnappers demanded roughly N48 billion in ransom payments nationwide, ultimately collecting N2.57 billion amid worsening violence and weak state control across large swathes of the country.

SBM Intelligence recorded 4,722 people abducted across 997 incidents during the period, with at least 762 people killed, painting a grim picture of a crime wave that has moved well beyond sporadic attacks.

“Abductions have evolved into a structured, profit-driven industry,” the report said, operating alongside escalating armed violence and mass killings.

While ransom demands have ballooned in naira terms, SBM noted that kidnappers’ earnings remain relatively modest in dollar value due to currency depreciation. The N2.57 billion paid translates to about $1.66 million, only marginally higher than the $1.13 million equivalent of N653.7 million collected in 2022.

“Whereas N653.7 million in 2022 equalled approximately $1.13 million, the far larger sums now extracted yield only a modest increase in dollar terms, prompting criminals to inflate naira demands,” the report stated.

Northwest entrenched as kidnapping hub

The Northwest remains the epicentre of Nigeria’s kidnapping economy, accounting for 425 incidents (42.6%) and 2,938 victims (62.2%) nationwide. Zamfara State recorded the highest number of abductees at 1,203, followed by Kaduna and Katsina.

SBM attributed the concentration to vast, poorly governed rural areas and entrenched bandit networks capable of executing mass abductions with limited resistance. By contrast, the Southwest recorded the lowest activity, accounting for just 5.3% of incidents and 3% of victims.

Mass kidnappings made up 23% of all cases and were overwhelmingly concentrated in northern states. Entire villages were often targeted, with victims sometimes forced to work on bandit-controlled farms and mining sites, increasing criminals’ leverage during ransom negotiations.

Violence widens beyond abductions

The report also documents persistent, large-scale violence running parallel to the kidnapping economy. In the Northcentral, attacks linked to Fulani herdsmen continued through March, with 15 people killed in a single assault in Katsina-Ala, Benue State, on March 7.

Zamfara recorded repeated deadly incidents, including an attack in Tsafe Local Government Area on March 13 that killed 40 people, alongside mass kidnappings in Maru, where 38 people were abducted the same day.

April and May ranked among the deadliest months, with attacks in Plateau and Benue States killing over 100 people, while up to 100 individuals were abducted in Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto.

The violence peaked in June with the Yelewata massacre in Guma Local Government Area, Benue State, where about 200 people were killed in a single incident. July and August saw further mass killings, including over 170 deaths in Shinkafi, Zamfara, and 100 fatalities in Bukkuyum.

By October, large-scale abductions persisted, with 73 people kidnapped in Bukkuyum, alongside fresh deadly attacks in Plateau and Katsina.

Economic risk beyond the human toll

SBM Intelligence concluded that kidnapping in Nigeria is no longer a series of isolated crimes but an organised enterprise operating with increasing efficiency and impunity.

Beyond the humanitarian devastation, the report warned that the expanding ransom economy distorts local livelihoods, discourages investment, and further erodes state authority, compounding economic fragility in already vulnerable regions.