Kidnappers across Nigeria collected N7.779 billion in ransom between July 2025 and June 2026, representing 34 per cent of the N22.856 billion demanded during the period, a report by SBM Intelligence has revealed.
The figure marks a sharp increase from the 5.35 per cent collection rate recorded in the previous reporting cycle, making the rise in ransom payments one of the most significant findings in SBM’s 2026 Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry report.
Although the N22.856 billion demanded was significantly lower than the N48 billion demanded in the previous cycle, SBM attributed the decline largely to an extraordinary N30 billion demand made in the abduction of the Enuma sisters in Delta State, which inflated the previous year’s figure.
The report said the 2026 figures were driven less by isolated high-value abductions and more by mass hostage-taking incidents involving groups with significant leverage and the capacity to secure ransom payments.
The JAS faction and its allied cells accounted for about N7 billion of the N7.779 billion ransom reportedly paid nationwide, representing approximately 90 per cent of the total ransom collected during the period.
SBM said two major mass abductions accounted for most of the amount.
In April 2026, a faction reportedly operating under commander Ali Ngulde abducted 416 people from Ngoshe in Gwoza, Borno State, and issued a 72-hour ultimatum demanding N5 billion.
According to the report, the entire N5 billion was reportedly paid, making it the largest single ransom recorded in SBM’s dataset.
Earlier, in November 2025, gunmen abducted 315 children and staff of St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State.
The report said multiple intelligence sources put the ransom paid for their release at N2 billion.
SBM said the two incidents alone accounted for N7 billion, or almost the entire national ransom payment for the year.
The report noted that the development represented a significant escalation in the convergence of ideology and financial crime, which it had identified in its previous report.
It said the JAS faction’s dominance of ransom collections indicated that designated terrorist organisations were increasingly becoming major players in Nigeria’s kidnapping economy.
Unaffiliated kidnappers, including cases attributed to bandits, accounted for N719.4 million, representing about nine per cent of the total ransom paid.
The Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, accounted for a further N53 million.
At the state level, Kwara recorded the highest ransom demand during the period, with N7.375 billion, representing 32.3 per cent of the national total.
SBM said the figure was driven largely by a single N3.52 billion demand linked to Boko Haram activity around Woro and Wawa.
Borno followed with N5.698 billion, representing 24.9 per cent, while Kaduna recorded N1.459 billion, Edo N1.205 billion and Kogi N1.13 billion.
The picture changed significantly when actual payments were considered.
Borno topped the list with N5.0545 billion collected, representing about 65 per cent of the national total.
Niger followed with N2 billion, or 25.7 per cent, while Kwara recorded N278.3 million, Kaduna N64 million and Sokoto N58 million.
The five states accounted for 95.8 per cent of all ransom reportedly collected during the year, underscoring the impact of a handful of major mass-abduction incidents on the national figure.
Some states record minimal ransom payments
At the bottom of the ransom-demand table were Kebbi with N5 million, Abia with N10 million, Akwa Ibom with N30 million, Sokoto with N50 million and Imo with N57.5 million.
SBM said some states recorded ransom demands running into only a few million naira, with little or nothing reportedly paid at the time of its research.
The smallest recorded ransom payments were N70,000 in Cross River, N100,000 in Bauchi and N500,000 in Ebonyi.
The report said such small payments could reflect token settlements or hostage-release agreements supplemented with non-cash items such as food and other supplies.
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