7,825 kidnapped, N7.78bn paid in ransom in one year — SBM Intelligence report reveals scale of Nigeria’s kidnap industry

Boko Haram and armed bandits abducted 7,825 people and collected N7.78 billion in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026 — a 66 per cent increase in victims from the previous year — according to a new report by SBM Intelligence.

As reported by Peoples Gazette, the report titled “The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry, 2026” revealed that while ransom demands fell from N48 billion to N22.9 billion, actual payments more than tripled from N2.56 billion, with the collection rate jumping from 5.35 per cent to 34 per cent.

One JAS faction of Boko Haram collected 90 per cent of all ransom from just eight incidents. Two abductions dominated — the N5 billion paid for 416 captives from Ngoshe, Borno and N2 billion for 315 pupils from St Mary’s School, Niger State — accounting for nearly the entire national ransom bill.

Zamfara alone recorded 236 incidents and 1,921 victims. The North accounted for 93.7 per cent of all abductions. At least 1,142 people were killed during the period.