Nigerians paid ₦7.78bn ransom as kidnappings jump 66% in one year

Nigerians paid at least ₦7.78 billion in ransom to kidnappers between July 2025 and June 2026, as abductions rose 66% to 7,825 victims and killings increased to 1,142, according to SBM Intelligence. The report recorded 1,411 kidnapping incidents and 302 related security operations, with a ransom collection rate jumping from 5.35% to 34%. Boko Haram collected about ₦7.0015 billion—90% of all paid ransom—from just eight cases, while unaffiliated bandits secured only 5.3% of their demands. Two mass abductions drove most payments: the April 2026 seizure of 416 people in Ngoshe, Borno State, where the full ₦5 billion demanded was paid, and the November 2025 kidnapping of 315 children and staff from St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, which yielded roughly ₦2 billion. Together, Borno and Niger accounted for 85% of ransom payments, with Zamfara, Kaduna and Sokoto making up most of the remainder. Northern Nigeria bore the brunt, recording 93.7% of victims and mass kidnappings becoming the dominant model, accounting for 79.5% of all abductions. Civilians made up 895 of the deaths, and the report warns that ransom payments now finance insurgency, disrupt schooling, drive farmers from land and divert household resources. A security expert urged stronger tracking of ransom flows through banks, noting a shift from cash to formal banking channels that exposes operational lapses. What steps should individuals, businesses and banks take to detect and block suspicious transactions linked to kidnapping?

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2026/08/27/nigerians-pay-n7-78-billion-ransom-as-kidnappings-surge-66/