Kidnapping: Ransom Rises By 750% In Two Years

…Kidnappers Demanded N64bn In Three Years

…Inflation Fuelling Rising Demand – SBM Intelligence

Tracked ransom payment to kidnappers rose steeply between 2023 and 2025, recording 750 per cent increase within the two-year period.

Data obtained from SBM Intelligence on Nigeria shows that N302m was paid for the release of kidnap victims in 2023.

However, by 2025, this had jumped to N2.57bn, showing an increase of 750.99 per cent within a period of two years.

Ransom demand rose by even a higher proportion – 860 per cent.

In 2023, kidnappers demanded a total of N5bn. Two years later, they demand went up to N48.01bn. This shows a rise of 860.2 per cent.

As of 2024, kidnappers sought for N10.99bn but obtained N1.05bn.

This means that within the three years under review, the ransom demanded for Nigerians in ‘captivity’ stood at N63.99bn. Thus, on average, kidnappers sought for N21.33bn.

On the other hand, they obtained N1.05bn in 2024 and a total of N3.92bn for the three years under review. This translates to an average of N1.31bn per annum in actual payments.

In terms of recorded incidents, 582 occurred in 2023; 1,130 occurred in 2024 while 997 occurred in 2025.

Thus, within a period of three years, 2,709 kidnapping incidents were tracked by SDM Intelligence. This gives an annual average of 903.

A total of 3,620 people were kidnapped in 2023. In 2024, the number jumped to 7,568, showing an increase of 109.06 per cent. In 2025, the number of kidnapped persons reduced to 4,722.

Thus, within a period of three years, a total of 15,910 Nigerians were kidnapped by ransom seeking terrorists and criminals. On the average, 5,303 persons were kidnapped on annual basis.

However, the incidents did not always end in ransom as some turned fatal. In 2023, 582 persons were killed. The number jumped by 81.44 per cent to 1,056.

The killings reduced to 762 in 2024. These give a total of 2,400 persons killed within a period of three years or annual average of 800 persons. Some of the people killed were security operatives on rescue mission.

Regional analysis shows that kidnapping incidents are more rampant in the North-West geopolitical zone. The region accounted for 425 or 42.6 per cent of the kidnapping incidents that happened in 2025.

The region also accounted for 2,938 people kidnapped in 2025. This translates to 62.2 per cent of the victims within the year.

The North-Central region accounted for 257 or 25.8 per cent of the incidents that happened in 2025. In terms of victims, the region accounted for 853 or 18.1 per cent of the number of persons kidnapped.

This was followed by the South-South region which accounted for 107 or 10.7 per cent of the total incidents. The region accounted for 257 or 5.4 per cent of the total number of victims that were recorded in 2025.

The South-East geopolitical zone recorded 96 incidents or 9.6 per cent of the national total. In terms of victims, it accounted for 199 or 4.2 per cent of the victims.

Unexpectedly, the North-East accounted for only 61 or 6.1 per cent of the total number of incidents of incidents in 2025. In terms of victims, the region accounted for 331 persons or seven per cent of those kidnapped.

The South-West recorded the least number of incidents and victims. It accounted for 53 or 5.3 per cent of the incidents and 144 or three per cent of the number of victims.

According to the SBM Intelligence data, Zamfara took the number one spot in 2025 in terms of the number of victims. It accounted for 1,203 victims. Kaduna came next with 629 victims.

Other states that were high on the radar included Katsina, 566; Sokoto, 358; Niger, 239; Borno, 205; Kebbi, 172; Kogi, 158; Kwara, 140; Benue, 128; Enugu, 123; Ondo, 92; Plateau, 79; Delta, 79; and the Federal Capital Territory, 73.

The top 15 states accounted for 4,244 or 89.9 per cent of the kidnapping that occurred across the country in 2025.

In terms of ransom demands and remittals, the South-South accounted for the highest demand of N32.3bn in 2025. However, N259.3bn was paid, showing a collection rate 0.8 per cent.

The North-East accounted for the highest collection rate of 81.69 per cent. While N971m was demanded in 2025, a total of N792.8m was actually paid. Apart from accounting for the highest collection rate, the North-East also accounted for the highest haul of ransom.

On the other hand, the demand in the North-West in 2025 amounted to N7.25bn while N694m was paid, showing a collection rate of 9.57 per cent.

In the North-Central, which includes the FCT, a total of N4.93bn was demanded while N547.45m was paid, showing a collection rate of 11.12 per cent.

In the South-East, a little over N1bn was demanded while N157.55m was paid. This shows a collection rate of 15.67 per cent.

For the South-West region, kidnappers asked for N1.56bn in 2025 and received N115.55m, showing a collection rate of 7.43 per cent.

SBM said that kidnapping was no longer merely a security problem but a structured economic enterprise.

It added that criminal groups increasingly calculated ransom values based on victims’ perceived ability to pay.

Groups linked to Boko Haram and other extremist organisations, it said, were increasingly participating in kidnap-for-ransom operations.

The report said the weakening naira had caused kidnappers to demand larger nominal sums while the dollar value of ransoms remains relatively flat.

In its “Locust Business: The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry – A 2025 Update”, the SBM Intelligence linked rising ransom demand to high inflationary rates.

It said Nigeria’s economy in 2024 and 2025 had been characterised by a complex interplay of growth in some sectors and significant challenges in others, particularly concerning inflation and the security environment.

It said, “This challenging economic reality has fuelled the dramatic growth of kidnapping as a criminal enterprise. The link between economic despair and the rapid proliferation of this crime is now more pronounced than ever, as shown by SBM Intelligence’s annual reports.

“Comparing SBM’s data from 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024 reveals a disturbing trend: while the ransom amounts demanded and paid in naira have continued to climb sharply, the value of these payments in US dollars has stagnated or even reduced. For example, between July 2021 and June 2022, SBM Intelligence recorded ransom payments totalling N653m, worth approximately $1.2m at the time.

“In the 2023 reporting period, Nigerians paid nearly N1bn in ransom, yet currency devaluation meant this sum translated to less than $1m. By the middle of 2025, ransom payments had surged further to N2.5bn, but with the naira trading at historically low rates, this figure remains only just above $1.7m.

“In real terms, the country is spending far more naira for every dollar’s worth of ransom, exposing ordinary Nigerians to escalating ruination while yielding no proportional increase in “value” for the criminals themselves.”

SBM Intelligence is an Africa focused geopolitical research and strategic communications consulting firm.

ENDS