A faction of Boko Haram received about 90 per cent of the ransom paid to kidnappers across Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026, according to a report by SBM Intelligence.
The report, The Capture of Nigeria’s Kidnap Economy, estimated that victims paid N7.779 billion, or about $5.78 million, in ransom during the 12-month period.
The Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram and affiliated cells accounted for N7.0015 billion of the total, despite being linked to only eight reported incidents.
SBM Intelligence said the figure represented “a staggering 90%” of all ransom collected in Nigeria during the period.
By comparison, bandits and other unaffiliated kidnapping groups were associated with 146 incidents but collectively received N719.4 million, representing 9.2 per cent of the total amount paid.
Two kidnappings generated N7bn
The report said two mass abductions were responsible for almost the entire N7 billion attributed to the Boko Haram faction.
In April 2026, 416 people were reportedly abducted from Ngoshe in Gwoza, Borno State, by a faction allegedly led by Ali Ngulde.
The kidnappers demanded N5 billion and gave the victims' representatives 72 hours to pay, according to the report. SBM said the full amount was eventually paid.
It described the N5 billion payment as the largest single ransom it had recorded.
The second major incident occurred in November 2025 when 315 pupils and staff members of St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, were abducted.
Citing multiple intelligence sources, SBM put the ransom paid for their release at N2 billion.
The two incidents therefore accounted for N7 billion of the N7.779 billion ransom paid nationwide during the period under review.
Kidnap economy increasingly linked to terrorism
SBM Intelligence said the figures suggested that Nigeria's kidnap-for-ransom economy had undergone a major structural shift.
It warned that the financial dominance of JAS meant the group was no longer merely participating in kidnapping for ransom but had become the biggest beneficiary of the money generated by the crime.
The research organisation said the disparity was particularly striking when ransom demands were compared with actual payments.
Bandits and unaffiliated kidnappers reportedly demanded N13.492 billion in 146 incidents but secured only 5.3 per cent of the amount demanded.
JAS, however, demanded N9.205 billion and received 76.1 per cent of its demands.
“Measured by what was demanded, the kidnap economy is a crime of the many. Measured by what was actually paid, it is dominated by a single terrorist organisation,” the report said.
SBM warned that ransom payments to a designated terrorist organisation had implications beyond the immediate criminality of kidnapping.
It said the funds could provide resources for weapons procurement, payment of fighters and the sustenance of insurgent operations, potentially enabling further attacks and abductions.
N5bn ransom sets new benchmark
The N5 billion ransom linked to the Ngoshe abduction also represented a new milestone in the country's kidnap economy, according to the report.
SBM said it was the first time in its annual series that the largest ransom demanded in a single incident was the same as the largest ransom actually paid.
“In every prior year, a wide gulf separated the boldest demand from the largest settlement,” the report stated.
It said the fact that the Ngoshe kidnappers received the full amount demanded indicated an unusually strong bargaining position.
According to SBM, the ability of the group to hold hundreds of hostages and its willingness to kill them gave it significant leverage during negotiations.
The report concluded that the concentration of ransom payments among terrorist groups represented a growing security challenge for Nigeria, as money extracted from victims could be channelled into sustaining the insurgency and financing future kidnappings.
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