Nigerians paid a lot of money to kidnappers, about N1.048 billion, between July 2023 and June 2024, according to a report by SBM Intelligence.
The report, called “Grim Reaping,” said that kidnappers asked for about N10.99 billion in ransom but only got N1.048 billion. That’s just 9.5% of what they wanted.
The report said that more people are turning to kidnapping because the economy is doing poorly. Rich people are getting fewer, so kidnappers are now going after more types of people. They start by asking for a lot of money but then lower it to what families can pay. The amount paid shows how much people in Nigeria can afford, not how good their families are at negotiating.
The report highlighted that Nigeria’s security problems are getting worse. There are many issues like Boko Haram in the Northeast, armed gangs in the Northcentral and Northwest, secessionist violence in the Southeast, and gang fights in the Southwest.
Among all these problems, kidnapping for ransom has become a big worry for everyone.
States with the highest kidnap rate
From July 2023 to June 2024, at least 7,568 people were kidnapped in 1,130 incidents in Nigeria. Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina had the highest numbers of kidnappings. Zamfara had 132 incidents with 1,639 victims, Kaduna had 113 incidents involving 1,113 victims, and Katsina had 119 incidents with 887 victims.
These states also had the most deaths from kidnappings, with 1,056 people dying in the 1,130 incidents. This means almost every kidnapping attempt leads to someone dying.
The report said that the highest ransom demands were in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), followed by Lagos and Kaduna. The Southeast had the most ransom paid and successful collections.
Kidnappers are now asking for different types of payments. In the South, they sometimes want food, drinks, and cigarettes. In the North, they often ask for motorcycles.
SBM’s analysis shows that women are kidnapped more often than men. In the South, kidnapping has gone up slightly from 2022 to 2024, but in the North, it’s become much worse. In just this year, the North had more incidents than the past two years combined, showing the situation is getting out of control.
Insights
The bad security is hurting the economy, especially farming. Farmers in the north often have to pay money just to farm and harvest their crops. Some farmers get kidnapped and even killed.
A report said that over 1,356 farmers have been kidnapped since 2020. Another report said farmers pay up to N100,000 to kidnappers as permission to farm in the North.
This has made the food crisis worse, with food prices going up 40% this year, the highest in almost 30 years.