RipplesMetrics: Kidnappers raked in $600,000 from Nigerian victims in 13 years

Nigeria is grappling with a complex and multifaceted insecurity crisis, marked by increasing cases of kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and communal clashes. The country’s northwest is particularly affected, with Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger states being hotspots for violence.

The Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast also continues, while separatist movements in the southeast and southwest add to the security challenges. The situation has resulted in significant human suffering, displacement and economic losses, while the government has faced criticism for its response to the crisis.

RipplesMetrics has reported that over 8,000 people have been killed in 2023 due to the country’s growing security crisis. In the first six months of 2024, over 5,000 deaths have been reported. This is despite President Bola Tinubu promising to make security one of his top priorities when he takes office on May 29, 2023.

Meanwhile, another insecurity crisis that has been growing for more than a decade is kidnapping. Aside from the fact that the victims of kidnapping, which include children, clerics, and locals, the kidnappers are raking in billions of dollars from ransom payments.

A compilation of SBM intelligence reports on the kidnapping economy shows that between 2011 and July 2024, victims paid over N9.79 billion to kidnappers as ransom in Nigeria. This figure does not include the many incidents that are not reported to security agencies.

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The data showed that between 2011 and 2020, a total of over $18 million, about N6.8 billion, was paid to kidnappers. The report revealed that between January 2016 and March 2020 alone, $11 million (N4.19 billion) was paid by victims.

Meanwhile, in the period from July 2021 to June 2022, the total ransom demanded from the kidnappers was IDR 19.36 billion, of which the victims paid IDR 1.65 billion. Furthermore, in July 2022 to June 2023, the ransom demanded from the victims was IDR 5.09 billion, while the ransom paid was IDR 302.2 million.

In a recent SBM report, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of at least N10,995,090,000 (approximately $6,871,931) but received N1,048,110,000.

Data breakdown by year

Between July 2011 and end-March 2020, the states with the highest kidnapping incidents were Rivers (120), Kaduna (117), Delta (96), Bayelsa (85), Borno (82), and Kogi (59). The data also showed that deaths recorded during kidnapping attempts occurred in Borno (489), Kaduna (209), Katsina (147), Rivers (132), Adamawa (91), and Niger (62).

Meanwhile, from July 2021 to June 2022, the total number of reported incidents was 500, with a total of 3379 people kidnapped and 474 victims reported across the affected states.

Between July 2022 and June 2023, SBM Intelligence found that at least 3,620 people were kidnapped in 582 kidnap-related incidents in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, between July 2023 and June 2024, our research found that no less than 7,568 people were kidnapped in 1,130 incidents across the country.

Of the 1,130 reported kidnapping cases, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina had the highest number of incidents and victims. Zamfara recorded 132 incidents with 1,639 victims, Kaduna recorded 113 incidents with 1,113 victims, and Katsina reported 119 incidents with 887 victims.

By James Odunayo

RipplesMetrics: Kidnappers raked in $9.8m from Nigerian victims in 13 years first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.