No fewer than 7,825 people were abducted in Nigeria in 1,713 kidnapping and related incidents between July 2025 and June 2026, with at least 1,142 people killed, according to a new report by SBM Intelligence.
The figure represents a 66 percent increase in the number of kidnapping victims compared with the previous reporting period, when 4,722 people were abducted in 997 incidents, and 762 people were killed.
SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused market intelligence and security analysis firm, disclosed this in its latest report, The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry, 2026, released on Thursday.
The report found that although kidnappers demanded less ransom during the period under review, the amount actually paid more than tripled.
Ransom demands fell from ₦48 billion in the previous cycle to ₦22.9 billion, while actual payments rose from ₦2.56 billion to ₦7.78 billion.
Consequently, the ransom collection rate rose sharply from 5.35 percent to 34 percent.
SBM said the figures were compiled from media reports, interviews and publicly available information and should be regarded as conservative because many ransom payments are never disclosed.
The report identified the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram as the biggest beneficiary of the ransom economy.
According to SBM, the group collected about ₦7 billion, or 90 per cent of the total ransom paid, from only eight incidents.
Two mass abductions accounted for ₦7 billion of the ₦7.78 billion paid during the year.
The first was the abduction of 416 people from Ngoshe in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, for which ₦5 billion was reportedly paid.
The second involved 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, whose release reportedly followed the payment of ₦2 billion.
The two cases alone accounted for nearly the entire national ransom bill during the period.
The Ngoshe abduction drew particular concern after the attackers issued a 72-hour ultimatum demanding ₦5 billion for the release of the 416 captives. Reports at the time said 12 of the victims escaped, while the fate of others remained uncertain as negotiations continued.
SBM said the development showed a major shift in Nigeria’s kidnapping economy, with terrorist organisations increasingly benefiting from mass abductions.
By comparison, bandits and other criminal gangs demanded ₦13.5 billion but received only ₦719 million from 146 incidents, representing a collection rate of 5.3 per cent.
The JAS faction, on the other hand, demanded ₦9.2 billion and collected ₦7 billion, giving it a collection rate of 76 per cent.
The report said the geographical pattern of kidnapping remained largely unchanged, with the North accounting for the overwhelming majority of victims.
Northern states recorded 93.7 percent of all abducted persons, while the South accounted for 6.3 percent.
The Northwest remained the epicenter of the crisis, recording the highest number of incidents, victims, and deaths.
Zamfara State had the highest number of reported kidnapping incidents, with 236 cases involving 1,921 victims — almost one-quarter of the national total.
Mass abductions also became the dominant pattern, with four out of every five victims taken in group seizures.
“Zamfara alone recorded 92 mass abductions, followed by Sokoto with 76. School abductions have resurged, with the Papiri attack reviving a tactic whose costs ripple through education, farming and public trust,” the report said.
The resurgence of school kidnappings has raised fresh concerns over the safety of pupils and the impact of insecurity on education, particularly in northern Nigeria.
SBM warned that paying ransom did not guarantee the safe return of abducted persons.
It recorded at least six cases in which victims were killed even after ransom had been paid.
The report also identified a growing trend in which people carrying ransom money were themselves abducted.
In 14 incidents, kidnappers demanded items including motorcycles, mobile phones, food, fuel and other goods instead of, or in addition to, cash.
SBM said the trend reflected the changing tactics of kidnapping networks as they adapted to the limited financial resources of victims and their families.
The report estimated that Nigerian kidnappers collected nearly $5.8 million in ransom during the period under review. Reuters noted that the figure was based on confirmed payments and that the actual amount could be considerably higher because many payments remain undisclosed.
SBM Intelligence said tackling Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis would require more than military operations and arrests.
It called for measures to disrupt the financial channels through which ransom payments sustain terrorist and criminal networks, alongside efforts to address the economic conditions that provide recruits for the groups.
“Without a coordinated strategy that targets both the profitability of the crime and its roots, Nigeria risks entrenching kidnapping not merely as a criminal industry but as a funding mechanism for the very groups that most threaten its stability,” it said.
The report comes amid continuing concerns over kidnapping, banditry and terrorism across several parts of Nigeria, with mass abductions increasingly placing pressure on families, schools, farmers and communities.
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