Kidnappers in Nigeria collected at least N2.57 billion in ransom between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a new report by SBM Intelligence titled “The Year Ahead at an Inflexion Point.” The report found that criminal groups demanded an estimated N48 billion during the period but received N2.57 billion, while recording 4,722 abductions across 997 incidents with no fewer than 762 people killed. Despite the surge in naira-denominated demands, the actual dollar value of ransoms remained modest at approximately $1.66 million due to currency depreciation, only slightly higher than the $1.13 million equivalent collected in 2022.
The Northwest remained the epicenter of Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom economy, accounting for 425 incidents or 42.6 percent of total cases and 2,938 victims, representing 62.2 percent of those abducted nationwide. Zamfara State recorded the highest number of victims at 1,203, followed by Kaduna and Katsina States. Mass abductions involving more than five victims made up about 23 percent of all cases and were overwhelmingly concentrated in northern states, with victims sometimes coerced into working on bandit-controlled farms and mining sites.
Beyond ransom-related crimes, the report highlighted persistent large-scale violence across several regions in 2025, including the June Yelewata massacre in Benue State where about 200 people were killed. SBM Intelligence concluded that Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis has evolved into an organized enterprise operating with increasing efficiency and impunity. The report warned that the growing ransom economy poses deeper economic risks, distorts local livelihoods and further undermines state authority in already fragile regions, prompting President Bola Tinubu to recently increase Police Force recruitment from 30,000 to 50,000 officers.