Over 7,000 Nigerians kidnapped in one year as bandits demand N11bn

In the space of one year, at least 7,568 Nigerians were abducted in 1,130 incidents across Nigeria, bandits demanding almost N11 billion for ransoms, a new report by SB Morgen Intel shows.

Out of the N10.9 billion demanded as ransom, kidnappers got a staggering N1 billion, the report, titled “Grim Reaping: Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry”, revealed.

“Between July 2023 and June 2024, no fewer than 7,568 people were abducted in 1,130 incidents across the country,” the Africa-focused market and security intelligence firm said.

“In that same period, kidnappers demanded at least the sum of N10,995,090,000 (approximately N11 billion) as ransom but got N1,048,110,000, a mere 9.5% of the money demanded.”

SBM analysis showed that the federal capital territory (FCT) has the highest ransom demands, followed closely by Lagos and Kaduna while the Southeast has the highest ransom paid and collection rate overall.

The report stated that while politicians, business owners were high targets of kidnappers in the previous years, the situation has worsened as everyone, regardless of class or age, are now targeted by abductors.

“The pool for high net worth individuals has shrunk. This makes everyone, including the bourgeoisie, students, infants, etc, a target”, it stated.

SBM Intel further said that the increasing number of kidnapping incidents in Nigeria points to the widespread levels of poverty and economic impasse ongoing in the country.

According to the World Bank, 89 million Nigerians are extremely poor for a country of less than 250 million people.

This has made Africa’s most populous nation the second poorest populated country after India in 2023.

“Nigeria’s insecurity has deteriorated, likely because as more people have become poorer from a stagnant economy, more people have become desperate and have resorted to kidnapping for ransom for survival,” SBM Intel said.

The report showed that of the 1,130 kidnap cases reported, Zamfara leads in the number of incidents reported with 132 incidents.

This is more than that of its neighboring Kaduna and Katsina with 1,639 kidnap victims. The two northern states recorded 113 and 119 incidents, with 1,113 and 887 people kidnapped, respectively.

“In these areas, bandit groups frequently exploit the inadequate security presence to impose collective punishment on rural communities, often kidnapping entire villages or groups of commuters.

“These groups sometimes use abducted individuals as forced labour while waiting for state governments to negotiate, whether for reduced military pressure or as retribution against communities suspected of cooperating with security forces,” the report stated.

SBM Intel advocates concerted efforts from the government to resolve the economic crisis in the country and come up with measures to prevent kidnapping from becoming an entrenched norm in the country.

“There is an urgent need for a comprehensive and coordinated effort to disrupt the financial flows that sustain these criminal activities.

“Only then can Nigeria hope to address the growing threat of kidnapping and restore a sense of security to its citizens,” the Lagos-based intelligence gathering firm said.