The latest report by SBM Intelligence should jolt Nigeria’s leaders into reality. Between July 2024 and June 2025, kidnappers demanded more than N48 billion in ransom. SBM Intelligence’s study titled “The Locust Business: The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry – A 2025 Update” confirmed that N2.56 billion was paid as ransom, with 4,722 civilians abducted within the said period.
According to the report, a total of N653.7 million was paid in 2022 and N302 million in 2023. Also, N1.05 billion was paid in 2024 before the latest figure of N2.56 billion. These grim figures confirm what Nigerians already knew: kidnapping has become a thriving industry, feeding on fear and state failure to respond effectively as mandated by the Constitution. From our communities (especially rural areas and suburban settings), farms, highways, to religious houses and schools, no one is safe anywhere. What began as sporadic abductions has evolved into structured criminal enterprises with deep tentacles among the rogue elements of our police, military, and security agencies. Families are forced to sell their lands, drain their savings, or seek public donations to rescue loved ones. This is not just failure; it is a national shame. The victims are not only those abducted but also Nigeria’s reputation and its economy. People hesitate to move outside the cities; tourism shrinks as people are scared to travel for fear of being kidnapped. Embassies issue regular warnings to their staff and prospective travellers to Nigeria. Many farmers have abandoned their farms in the northern part of the country out of fear. The ransom economy now sustains criminal syndicates, finances weapons purchases, and perpetuates a vicious cycle of violence. Despite years of military campaigns, ballooning security budgets, and official pledges, Nigerians remain unprotected. The success of our gallant armed forces is hardly enough, leaving victims with the option of ransom payment. The persistence of kidnapping exposes deeper governance failures. Poverty, joblessness, ungoverned spaces, collusion, and porous borders create fertile grounds for criminality. Worse still, corruption within security agencies sabotages operations and erodes public confidence. Unless these weaknesses are addressed, the kidnap industry will continue to flourish. Nigeria cannot afford to normalise ransom payment as the price for survival. We must not give in to the criminals. The federal and state governments must treat kidnapping as a national security emergency and with the same urgency as terrorism. Security agencies must be retooled, technology and intelligence-driven, and held accountable for results. Networks of collaborators and financiers must be dismantled, and communities empowered through grassroots policing and economic opportunities. The cost of inaction is not only measured in naira but in national dignity. To allow criminals to rob Nigerian citizens of their freedom is to surrender our sovereignty to criminals and terrorists. That is unacceptable!
Nigeria must act decisively. The lives of Nigerians are not for sale.