Tag: Kidnapping

4,722 kidnapped, ₦2.57bn paid by Nigerians in 2 months’ – Report 

Aminu Imam
Kidnap report

No fewer than 4,722 people were kidnapped across Nigeria between July 2024 and June 2025, with ₦2.57 billion paid in ransoms against demands totalling ₦48 billion, according to a new report by SBM Intelligence. The study, titled: ‘Locust Business: The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry A 2025 Update’, documents a crisis that has become entrenched as both a national security threat and an illicit economic sector. During the year under review, 997 incidents of kidnapping were recorded nationwide, leading to 762 deaths. Civilians made up the majority of the fatalities,…

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“We were kidnapped by Tiv people, not Fulani” – Freed victim 

Aminu Imam
Freed victims in Benue

A Nigerian Law School student, David Obiora, who was kidnapped alongside others on the night of July 26, 2025, has clarified that their abductors were Tiv indigenes from Benue State, and not Fulani as widely speculated. In a recent interview with newsmen,  Obiora recounted his ordeal, refuting claims by the Nigeria Police that he and five other students were rescued by security operatives in Benue State. Obiora, a law student at the Nigerian Law School’s Yola campus, explained that they were abducted along the Zakibiam-Mukari Expressway, after boarding a company’s…

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Nigerian pirates shift from hijacking to kidnapping – Report

Aminu Imam
Nigerian pirates shift

Crackdowns on piracy in the Bight of Biafra – the stretch of ocean from Nigeria to Gabon – have pushed pirates to switch tactics, according to a report by ENACT, Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Its Senior Researcher,, Raoul Sumo Tayo, said: “With hijackings declining since 2021, armed groups now focus on kidnapping for ransom, feeding a growing criminal economy”. The region’s proximity to Nigeria’s Niger Delta, where law enforcement is weak, makes it an ideal base. The UN and Cameroonian forces have confirmed multiple Nigerian pirate camps near the…

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Former IGP Muhammad Adamu Condoles Nasarawa Community, Decries Banditry After Village Chief’s Abduction

Aminu Imam
IMG 20250528 WA0078

…Urges Unity Against Insecurity Former Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Muhammad Abubakar Adamu, has condoled with the people of Sangarin Dari village, in Kokona Local Government Area of ​​Nasarawa State, after bandits abducted a village chief, Emmanuel Omanji. Adamu, who served as IGP from 2019 to 2021 under the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, who expressed his condolence to newsmen on Friday,said he was deeply saddened by the way the bandits abducted the monarch, praying that God would rescue him safely and reunite him with his family. According to the former IGP, the…

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Rivers: Niger-Delta pirates kidnap 19 passengers in boat hijacking

Aminu Imam
Niger Delta pirates kidnap

No fewer than 19 travelers were kidnapped along the Isaka River in Okrika local government area of Rivers State on Tuesday. Reports indicate that one of the boats was heading to Bonny Island, while the other was en route to the Cawthorne Channel in Bille, Degema local government area when the incident occurred Confirming the development, the Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, Port Harcourt Commercial District, Israel Pepple, described the situation as unfortunate. Pepple revealed that the pirates also made away with goods and…

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Kano: Bandits abduct woman after instant payment of ₦8m ransom

Aminu Imam
Kano bandits abduction

Suspected bandits have abducted a young woman, Zainab Auwalu, during a midnight raid on Garo, a town in the Kabo local government area of Kano State, despite receiving an immediate ransom payment of ₦8 million from her family. She was said to have just completed secondary school. The incident which reportedly occurred at around 1:30 a.m. yesterday, caused panic in the community. According to residents, the assailants, numbering about ten, arrived on motorcycles armed with sophisticated weapons. Their target was the residence of Alhaji Auwalu, a local businessman and father…

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Kidnappers demand ₦40m for release of ex-AIG’s Wife – Alake

Aminu Imam
Kidnappers demand

The Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Dr. Michael Gbadebo, has revealed that the kidnappers of wife of retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, (AIG) Hakeem Odumosu, Mrs. Odumosu, are demanding a ransom of ₦40million for her release. Recall that the abduction occurred on Thursday night in Arepo, Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State. According to reports, four masked men accosted Mrs. Odumosu around 9:55 p.m., as she was entering her residence. The assailants reportedly dragged her out of her Lexus SUV and led her through a swampy…

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?Nigerians paid N2.3tr as ransom in 1yr NBS

Aminu Imam
Nigerians paid ransom

…51.9m crime incidences recorded Nigerians paid a staggering N2.3 trillion in ransom over a 12-month period, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday. The figure, drawn from the 2024 Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS), underscores the financial toll of crimes in the country. The survey, covering May 2023 to April 2024, revealed that 65 percent of households impacted by kidnappings paid ransoms, averaging N2.67 million per incident. During this period, an estimated 51.9 million crime incidences were recorded nationwide. The North-West…

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Kaduna: Toddler, 3 siblings abducted in estate

Aminu Imam
Kaduna toddler abduction

There is confusion in the Keke community, Kaduna Millennium City, over the abduction of a two-year-old child and three sisters. The incident was said to have occurred around 9:00 pm on Tuesday when their father was on a visit to their mother, who was admitted to the hospital with newly born twins. The victims are aged 2, 9, 12, and 15. The father of the victims, Yunusa Sarkin Samarin Keke, said one of the children was an orphan under his care. I was not at home when the incident occurred…

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Terrorists kill 2, kidnap APC Chair, 13 others in Katsina

Aminu Imam
Katsina kidnap

Suspected terrorists have launched a violent attack on ?an-Auta village, located in Sabuwa local government area of Katsina State, in the early hours of Friday. According to reports, the assault, which took place around 2am, resulted in the death of two persons, including a security operative from the Katsina State Community Watch Corps (KSCWC), and led to the abduction of 13 others, including women and children. Among those abducted was the chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the area, identified as Alhaji Imamu. According to witnesses report,…

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