Disturbingly, kidnappers have killed at least 762 Nigerians in 4,722 abductions in the past year. This has understandably made Nigerians fear for their safety within their own nation. Indeed, Nigeria’s instability has escalated into a full-scale war, and the government shows no signs of victory at this point.
An organization specializing in geopolitical studies, SB Morgen, made the announcement.
The fact that innocent individuals are being slain is even more troubling since it shows how the cruel criminals are using their terrible schemes to achieve their goals.
Unfortunately, the majority of the victims were forced to die young due to their inability to pay the ransom that their kidnappers had demanded. Others perished or were murdered while being held captive or attempting to escape kidnappers.
Even after loved ones paid the ransom, many victims were still forgotten. In a nation with a robust security infrastructure, including the police and military, this is occurring without restriction, which is quite strange.
Nigeria faces numerous security challenges, including kidnapping. Some of these, like terrorism, have driven millions of people from their ancestral homelands and killed thousands of innocent people.
What this incident shows is how quickly these crooks are eroding Nigeria’s security and future. The national reputation has been tarnished as a result of kidnappings, and the government must immediately and seriously address this problem.
According to SB Morgen’s ‘Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnapping Industry’ report, which ran from June 2024 to June 2025, the kidnappers made N2.57 billion off of victims and their families, despite demanding over N48 billion.
The kidnappers’ allegedly most brutal actions occurred in the Northwest, while “targeted religious abduction and financial extortion” were the experiences of the South South and South East, according to the study.
The amount of money paid in ransom has increased substantially over the years, according to the research, and kidnapping has become a very organized and widespread criminal enterprise in Nigeria. The sum of N653.7 million was disclosed in a report from 2022 by SB Morgen. Despite a decline to N302 million in 2023, the amount surged to N1.05 billion in 2024, and according to the most recent numbers, it reached a new peak of N2.5 billion.
Out of 4,722 documented occurrences during the period under review, the states of Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina had the largest numbers of events and victims when it comes to abduction. These states are also among the most endemic in Nigeria. The number of kidnappings in Katsina was the highest, at 131.
With 1,203 hostages, or 25.4% of the total, Zamfara was the state with the highest kidnapping count in the country. With 123, Kaduna outscored Niger by a wide margin. With 49 reported occurrences of kidnapping, Delta was the sole southern state and number five overall.
Furthermore, in the Okwuani Local Government Area, Chidimma, Precious Enuma, and their aunt Anwuri Okoye were wanted a ransom of N48 billion; the largest portion of this sum was requested in Delta, at N30 billion. The northern states are clearly the most troubled, comprising four of the five.
Section 33 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees the right to exist. The abductions and murders are a terrible affront to the victims’ inherent dignity as human beings. According to Section 41(1) of the same constitution, all citizens of Nigeria are guaranteed the freedom to travel throughout the country, live anywhere they like, and not be subject to expulsion or entry or exit restrictions.
The abduction of Nigerians while they are on the move violates their right to freedom of movement in the country. Assaulting the Nigerian people by demanding ransom in exchange for their hard-earned wealth is unethical and illegal.
The government must safeguard the people of Nigeria from the evil deeds committed by these criminals. A government’s principal function is to ensure the safety and well-being of its inhabitants, according to Section 14 (2) of the Constitution. As a nation cannot exist without its citizens, this duty of government must take precedence above all others. This should be an impossible task to carry out only in a failing state.
The unjust killings of Nigerians must stop, and the country must have a government. What SB Morgen revealed spanned only a year of some nasty Nigerians’ indifference toward their fellow countrymen.
A year in which 762 innocent lives are lost due to the greed of a few criminals is tragic.
Like other countries—most notably China—that have dealt with banditry and similar crimes, the federal government should consult with state governors in areas where kidnapping is common to establish a plan to neutralize the terrorists. Nigeria has descended into a state of war, which demands the utter annihilation of kidnappers.
You can’t be serious about ending kidnapping if you think it will go away on its own. It is evident from the report that the kidnappers are demanding larger ransom due to the rising cost of living and the diminishing prospects for lawful sources of earning. Kidnapping has evolved from a sign of an inadequate security infrastructure into a lucrative business model for criminals, according to that. Thus, as there is no efficient system in place to apprehend and punish the kidnappers, they are emboldened to ramp up their operation, resulting in an increased number of casualties.
The nation will pay a higher price if people let their ethno-religious or political feelings cloud their judgment in the face of this heinous murder.
In order to stop more Almajiris from being enlisted for kidnapping or terrorism, the northern governors should make education a top priority.
The government has been encouraged by specialists to use advanced tracing technologies to successfully break the financial networks of kidnappers. Because of this, the criminals will be deprived of the money they earn or want to earn via ransom payments.
It appears that many of these criminal elements enter the country through the Northern porous borders, which the federal authorities should address more. As a deterrent, it is important to try and punish convicted kidnappers while they are in government custody. The clutches of kidnappers must be released from Nigeria.
Most importantly, the government needs to address the underlying socioeconomic causes of kidnapping with honesty, determination, and concerted efforts. In order to protect people and their possessions, it is necessary to stabilize the economy.
In particular, the government needs to do something about the growing expense of living and create jobs. Even if kidnapping has become a lucrative industry in Nigeria, it is not inevitable. Forest guards should do more than just exist in principle, and states should quickly be given the authority to form their own police force.
The national humiliation that kidnapping has caused must end. The criminals ought to be eliminated.
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