7,825 Nigerians Kidnapped, N7.78bn Paid in Ransom in One Year — SBM Report
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SBM Intelligence says 7,825 Nigerians were kidnapped between July 2025 and June 2026, with at least N7.78bn paid in ransom, and a Boko Haram faction taking 90 percent of that sum.
SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research firm, says 7,825 people were kidnapped across Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026, with at least N7.78 billion paid in ransom during the period, a 66 per cent jump in victims from the year before.
The report, titled "The Capture of Nigeria's Kidnap Economy" and released on August 27, 2026, recorded 1,411 kidnapping incidents and found that 963 people were killed, including 68 security personnel. It said the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram alone collected more than 90 per cent of all ransom paid nationwide, drawn largely from two mass abductions: 416 people taken from Ngoshe in Borno State in April 2026, for which a N5 billion ransom was reportedly paid in full, and 315 pupils and staff abducted from St Mary's School in Papiri, Niger State, in November 2025, for which N2 billion was reportedly paid.
The report found Zamfara recorded the highest number of incidents in the North-West with 236 cases involving 1,921 victims, followed by Katsina, Sokoto and Kaduna. Northern Nigeria accounted for 93.7 per cent of all victims nationwide. "For every ransom that is paid for a kidnapping incident, you are simply birthing another kidnapping incident," SBM security analyst Kehinde Giwa said.
