According to the report released by SBM Intelligence yesterday revealed that 7,568 people were kidnapped across the country within the period.
SBM Intelligence is an Africa-focused market/security intel
gathering consulting firm. Information from its website said it is Nigeria’s
leading geopolitical research consultancy outfit, which is “particularly strong
in the area of primary data gathering, and analyses of data that provides
clarity relating to political, economic and social issues in Nigeria and West
Africa”.
According to the report released yesterday by the firm, though
abductors demanded N11 billion as ransom within the period, only N1.048bn was
paid.
According to the report, some of the security issues confronting
the country include Boko Haram’s resurgence in the North East, armed gangs in
the North Central and the North West, secessionist violence in the South East
and gang-related issues in the South West.
The report also blamed the rising kidnapping for ransom on
economic stagnation, noting that kidnappers increasingly target a broader range
of people, starting with high ransom demands that are eventually lowered to
what families or social organisations can afford.
It said ransom paid reflected the purchasing power of Nigerians
rather than the negotiating skills of the victims’ families.
It further pointed out that amid these diverse threats,
kidnapping for ransom had emerged as a pervasive and unifying concern.
The report said the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded the
highest ransom demands in the country, with Lagos and Kaduna closely trailing.
An analysis of geopolitical zones showed that the South East
leads in both the amount of ransom paid and the rate of successful collections.
It further highlighted a new form of payment demanded by
kidnapper-in-kind payments from victims’ families, which vary by region.
In the South, these demands often include food, drinks and
cigarettes; while in the North, motorcycles are frequently requested.
The report said: “Also, between July 2023 and June 2024, our research uncovered that at least 7,568 individuals were abducted in 1,130 incidents across Nigeria. The states of Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina reported the highest numbers of both incidents and victims. Zamfara experienced 132 incidents with 1,639 victims, Kaduna had 113 incidents involving 1,113 victims and Katsina recorded 119 incidents with 887 victims.
“These states also recorded the highest number of civilian
deaths. Over the past year, kidnapping has become increasingly lethal,
resulting in 1,056 deaths across 1,130 reported incidents. On average, every
attempted kidnapping now results in a fatality,” the SBM Intelligence report
pointed out.
“In that same period, kidnappers demanded at least the sum of
N10,995,090,000 (approximately $6,871,931) as ransom but received
N1,048,110,000, a mere 9.5% of the money demanded, indicating that kidnappers
have become less targeted in their victimology.
“Of the 1,130 reported kidnapping cases, Zamfara, Kaduna, and
Katsina have the highest numbers of incidents and victims”, it further
revealed.
The report also said that Zamfara recorded the highest incidents
with 132 cases and 1,639 victims.
“Zamfara recorded 132 incidents with 1,639 victims, Kaduna had
113 incidents with 1,113 victims, and Katsina reported 119 incidents with 887
victims”, it said.
“These three states also have the highest number of civilian
deaths. In the year under review in this report, kidnapping has become more
lethal, with 1,056 people killed in 1,130 reported kidnap incidents. On
average, someone is killed each time there is an attempted kidnap”, it added.
Gombe also recorded the lowest incidents with one case, Jigawa
two cases, Bayelsa 3 cases, Kano recorded 4 cases, while Osun state had six
cases.
The SBM researchers also said women are more often targeted for
kidnapping than men. While the South has witnessed only a modest increase in
kidnapping incidents from 2022 to 2024, the North has seen a sharp escalation.
Ejiofor stressed that even though the lives lost during the
period that ransom was paid were more important than the money, it was time for
the president to declare a state of emergency on insecurity.
According to him, manning Nigeria’s land borders properly will
go a long way in checking the cross-border movement of the kidnappers and other
criminals engaging in the activities.
“If that report is anything to go by, that is very dangerous,
both for our economy and for our other spheres of life. It is a danger that
must be checked.
“Money raked in is not even the problem, what about the numbers
of lives lost? We should not be talking about money but the numbers of lives
lost first. It is high time the government did something quickly.
“The way forward is the citizens’ participation. People must be
involved. We shouldn’t be waiting for our security agencies alone to do it.
“Government should also prioritise or declare an emergency on
security, and give proper funding, training, among others to security agencies,
and collaborate with other foreign interests and groups because what is going
on now is that, we have this trans-border crimes and trans-border movement.
“It is painful and a disgrace for any government to admit it is
paying ransom. It is an abnormality we are going to live with for sometime. We
need to invest more and restructure our intelligence architecture”, he said.