Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina lead as over 7,000 Nigerians are abducted in one year – Report

At least 7,568 people were abducted in the last year and N1 billion was paid as ransom during the period, according to a report by SMB Intelligence, a market intelligence, security analysis and strategic consulting firm.

The report said the victims were kidnapped in 1,130 incidents between July 2023 and June 2024.

During the period under review, the firm said, N10 billion (N10,995,090,000) was demanded as ransom but the kidnappers only “received N1,048,110,000 (N1 billion)…”

“Nigeria’s security crisis has become increasingly complex, with armed groups and non-state actors exploiting the state’s weakened influence,” SMB Intelligence stated. “This includes Boko Haram’s resurgence in the North-east, armed gangs in the North-central and North-west, secessionist violence in the South-east, and gang-related issues in the South-west. Amid these diverse security threats, widespread kidnap for ransom has emerged as a common thread.”

Kidnapping has become more lethal, the firm noted, adding that 1,056 people were killed in 1,130 reported kidnap incidents.

“On average, someone is killed each time there is an attempted kidnap.”

The report stated that women were more targeted than men in all the abductions that were recorded. It further blamed the abductions spree on the country’s economic challenges.

“As the country’s economic challenges deepen and more individuals fall below the poverty line, more people have taken to kidnapping for ransom for survival,” the report stated. “To prevent this crime from becoming an entrenched norm, 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.”

Kidnap-for-ransom patterns in Nigerian states

Kidnap-for-ransom is a nationwide menace, plaguing many states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Zamfara was the most affected state, followed by Kaduna and Katsina, the report stated.

“Of the 1,130 reported kidnapping cases, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina have the highest numbers of incidents and victims. Zamfara recorded 132 incidents with 1,639 victims, Kaduna had 113 incidents with 1,113 victims, and Katsina reported 119 incidents with 887 victims,” the firm stated in the report.

The three states also had the highest number of civilian deaths.

In the report, SBM Intelligence also spotlighted cases of mass abduction. It noted that more than 3,000 were kidnapped in 135 incidents.

“From January to June, we found that 135 incidents of mass abductions–kidnap incidents with at least five victims per incident–have been reported, with 3,277 people kidnapped and 125 people killed.

“Zamfara leads the pack with more incidents (24) but with slightly less number of abducted persons (680) than its closest competitors Kaduna (21; 629) and Katsina (23; 545). Borno would have been trending less than it did if not for the earlier mentioned Gamboru incident, where 319 internally displaced women and girls were abducted. This abduction bumped the number of persons kidnapped in mass abductions in the state to 348 from the four incidents reported.

“Across a regional lens, mass abductions are almost purely a northern preoccupation, as the chart below shows. Given the north’s geographic size, it is easier to move large numbers of people and hold them in perpetuity in vast forests and land areas than in the south, where the population density is higher,” it noted.

No ransom payment – Tinubu

In March, President Bola Tinubu said the federal government will not pay ransom to kidnappers.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this following some kidnapping incidents across the country.

“Mr President has also directed that no ransom will be paid by government to any of these criminal elements. I think it’s important that this be put out there,” PREMIUM TIMES reported the minister as saying.

In an article he authored and published in Newsweek magazine in April, the president again said his government would put an end to the payment of ransom to kidnappers in the country, vowing, “they will receive not a dime.”

He, however, said to address the kidnap-for-ransom market, poverty, inequality, and paucity of opportunities must be addressed.

“But compressing the kidnap for ransom market only addresses the pull factors. If we are to avoid funneling the same people into other crimes that cause normal Nigerians to feel insecure, we must address the push factors: poverty, inequality, and a paucity of opportunity. Criminal gangs can find easy recruits among those without either a job, or the prospect of one,” President Tinubu said.

Despite the president’s claim, however, many Nigerians pay ransom to rescue their kidnapped relatives and many also believe the government still pays ransom to rescue some kidnapped victims.