A report compiled by security consultancy SBM Intelligence indicates that kidnappers in Nigeria have collected at least N7.78 billion in ransom payments between July 2025 and June 2026. The report estimated that 7,825 people were abducted across the country during the period, representing a 66 per cent increase from the previous year. It also recorded at least 1,142 deaths linked to kidnapping incidents. The findings, which were compiled by SBM from media reports, interviews, and...

 After spending three weeks in captivity, 48 children aged between seven and 12, kidnapped in Niger State, have been released after payment of ransom, according to a traditional ruler, the UN. The bandits specialized in kidnapping and cattle rustling, targeting rural communities in northwest and central Nigeria, looting homes, and imposing levies on mining sites and farmland. Abdullahi Sahonrami, the traditional chief in Mashegu district, who confirmed the release of the abducted children, said on...

…Warns those providing information to insurgents Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa state has vowed that anyone found providing information to insurgents will face the full wrath of the law. Governor Fintiri, who gave the warning on Tuesday in Hong while handing over 40 motorcycles to support security operations in the Hong Local Government Area, said that intelligence gathered by security agencies indicated that some individuals were leaking security information to insurgents. Fintiri, therefore, called...