Tag: KIDNAPPINGS

‘4,654 killed, 3,141 kidnapped in Nigeria in one year’ – Report

Aminu Imam
Report on insecurity

…Warns insecurity may worsen ahead of 2027 elections Violent conflicts across Nigeria claimed 4,654 lives in 2025, while 3,141 persons were kidnapped in 1,274 incidents nationwide, according to the Nigeria Violent Conflicts Database (NVCD) 2025 released by Nextier Advisory Ltd., which warned that insecurity may worsen without urgent reforms in intelligence, governance, and conflict prevention. The findings were unveiled in Abuja during the launch of the 2026 Nigeria Security and Conflict Outlook, themed: ‘When Capability Meets Resolve’, alongside a new predictive security platform designed to strengthen data-driven conflict response and…

Read More

Raids, Rustlings & Kidnappings: Insecurity spreads across Nigeria’s heartlands

Aminu Imam
9ja escalating insecurity

A fresh wave of violence across Nigeria has left farming and rural communities reeling, as banditry, kidnappings, cattle-rustling and insurgent attacks spread from the North-West to the South-South and parts of the South-East regions. Incidents reported this month in Sokoto, Kaduna, Delta, Edo, Benue, Enugu, Yobe, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Borno states underline the country’s persistent insecurity, particularly in remote settlements where poor communication and weak state presence enable attackers to strike with ease. In Sokoto’s Sabon-Birni LGA, at least seven villagers were killed, several injured and three abducted when armed…

Read More

Kidnappings: Northern youths urge criminalisation of ransom payments

Aminu Imam
Northern youths on kidnappings

The Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, (NYCN), has urged security authorities to urgently criminalise and enforce laws against ransom payments to end kidnappings in Nigeria. This was contained in an open letter yesterday in Kaduna by the NYCN national president, Isah Abubakar, addressed to the National Security Adviser (NSA) and other top security officials. The letter, dated January 3, 2026, was also copied to the minister of defence, Chief of Defence Staff, service chiefs, and the Inspector-General of Police, (IGP). Abubakar said he wrote on behalf of the NYCN and…

Read More

Insecurity: Senate proposes death penalty for kidnappers

Aminu Imam
Senate orders NNPCL

The 10th Senate has passed a resolution classifying kidnapping as a form of terrorism. The lawmakers are calling for changes to the Terrorism Act so that kidnappers face the strictest punishments. During yesterday’s plenary session, senators agreed that anyone convicted of kidnapping should automatically receive the death penalty once the law is updated. This decision comes amid growing concerns over the rising number of abductions in the country and the urgent need to deter criminals. “The resolution requires that, upon conviction for kidnapping, the death penalty must be enforced”, the…

Read More

Killings, Kidnappings: “Resign if you can’t secure Nigerians” – Primate Ayodele tells Tinubu

Aminu Imam
Primate Ayodele

Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has blasted President Bola Tinubu over the recent upsurge in killings and kidnappings in Nigeria. In an issued statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele described the situation as a shame, especially for the fact that some officials of the government went to the United States for a meeting regarding insecurity and the threats issued by Donald Trump. The cleric stated that the President’s responsibility is to ensure every Nigerian is secured, and that if the President can’t…

Read More

‘Kidnappers made ₦2.56bn from 4,722 abductees in one year’ – Report 

Aminu Imam
Kidnappers report

Over the past year, kidnapping in Nigeria has become a full-blown national crisis, cutting across regions, states, and social classes, according to a published report.  Once sporadic and localized, abductions have evolved into a coordinated criminal economy that thrives on ransom payments and exploits weak state capacity. The scale of the problem is staggering: 4,722 people were abducted in 997 incidents, with 563 civilian deaths, 180 kidnappers killed, and 100 security personnel lost in the process. Far from isolated rural violence, this crisis has morphed into an entrenched national emergency.…

Read More

Kidnapping, Banditry resurgence: Afenifere raises National Security alarm

Aminu Imam
Afenifere on insecurity

The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has raised an alarm over the resurgence of kidnapping, banditry, attacks on security officers and continuous herders and farmers clashes. The organisation, in a press statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, recalled that reports of kidnapping for ransom, killings, attacks on security officers as well as clashes between herders and farmers became more rampant in the last few days. According to Afenifere, Theres no doubt that the Government appreciates the need to prevent terrorism, as exemplified by the…

Read More

‘Nigerias kidnapping racket, a symptom of a failing State’ Financial Times of LondonEditorial

Aminu Imam

The Financial Times of London, an international business newspaper, has stated that Nigerias kidnapping racket is a symptom of a failing State. In a scathing newspaper editorial column it posted during the week, the international business newspaper, hinted conspicuously that the Government has lost control of the country. Giving perceived solution to Nigerias problem, The Financial Times said: “Ever since Nigeria moved its capital to Abuja three decades ago, Africas most populous nation has been run from Aso Rock, a 400-metre granite monolith that doubles as the seat of government. The fact that the…

Read More

US condemns kidnappings in Nigeria

Aminu Imam

Pledges support to rescue abductees The United States Mission in Nigeria has condemned the abduction of scores of school children and women in Kaduna State. The US Mission in Nigeria, via its official X page yesterday, also condemned the displaced persons abducted in Borno State, whereby suspected Boko Haram terrorists had kidnapped over 100 internally-displaced persons (IDPs). The US Mission also urged the Nigerian government to arrest the perpetrators and make sure they face the consequences. The United States government however pledged its support to Nigerias effort to secure release…

Read More

Pope expresses concern over rising cases of kidnappings in Nigeria

Aminu Imam

Head of the Catholic church, Pope Francis, on Sunday, expressed concern over the rising kidnappings in Nigeria, noting that the development as extremely concerning. The Pontiff, who expressed the concern in a statement via his X account, prayed that efforts by the Nigerian authorities to contain the menace yield fruit as much as possible. According to the Pontiff, The increasingly frequent kidnappings in Nigeria are extremely concerning. I express my closeness in prayer to the Nigerian people, hoping that efforts will be made to contain the spread of these incidents…

Read More