Over 7,000 Kidnapped in Nigeria as Boko Haram Takes 90% of Ransom
Nigeria recorded 1,411 kidnapping incidents involving about 7,825 victims between July 2025 and June 2026, with at least N7.78 billion paid in ransom, according to SBM Intelligence.
The research firm said Boko Haram accounted for more than 90% of the ransom. It collected about N7 billion from just eight incidents, including the abductions of hundreds of students in Niger and Borno states. The report found that 963 people were killed during the period, with the North accounting for 85% of kidnapping cases.
Security forces conducted 302 anti-kidnapping operations, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing Nigeria’s security response.
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![The three suspected terrorists linked to Oyo school abduction]()
Three men have been sentenced to life imprisonment in Nigeria after pleading guilty to offences linked to the kidnapping of dozens of pupils and teachers during coordinated attacks on schools in Oyo State in May. Justice Salim Ibrahim sentenced the three men after they pleaded guilty to some of the 10 terrorism charges preferred against them by the federal government.
Abdulrazak Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khalifa/Abu
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President Bola Tinubu has ordered a manhunt for armed kidnappers who attacked four villages in Niger State. The attackers killed more than 40 people and abducted an unverified number of residents. Local officials said that as many as 500 people may have been taken.
A video released by the kidnappers appeared to show some of the captives alive in a forest. Survivors have fled to neighbouring states and Benin.
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![Police rescue 75 kidnapping victims from Kaduna forest.]()
Nigerian police have rescued 75 people, including men, women and children, after they were kidnapped from commercial buses in Kaduna State. The victims, identified as Fulani travellers, were abducted by gunmen on August 19. They were held inside a cave in a mountainous forest near Birnin Gwari.
Police, acting on intelligence from the local transport workers’ union,
(file photo).
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