The warning of late by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, against Nigerians paying ransom to kidnappers may be convenient; but it is bland in its entirety. No one enjoys paying ransom to kidnappers holding their loved ones. But when all other hope of rescuing them is lost, particularly when official security is patently missing at that crucial point, it is understandable for Nigerians to rally around for mobilisation and payment of ransom, notwithstanding that the payment fuels rather than curb kidnapping.
The heart of the issue is that President Bola Tinubu as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the NSA and the entire gamut of the security community have the sole duty of keeping all Nigerians secure and free of kidnappers. And until that duty is seen to be done, or distressed families can trust the rescue process, the self-help ransom-for-freedom option would, unfortunately, continue to be the nightmarish reality of this age.
The National Security Adviser gave the warning against ransom while receiving a fresh batch of over 60 rescued victims who had been in the kidnappers’ den for over a month, following intense military pressure in Kaduna. The victims, among whom was a deputy director in the civil service and a relative of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, all hail from Zango Kataf in Southern Kaduna.
According to Ribadu, payment of ransom is the engine propelling the criminals to continue in terrorism. He said: “Let me urge our people, families, to stop giving ransom to these criminals. Please stop giving money to their people. The more money you give, the more you compound the problem. We have never given any money to any of these people. Giving money to these evil people is counterproductive. The more money you give them, the more they request for more money.”
In fairness to the NSA, kidnap-for-ransom has reached an alarming proportion and is an embarrassment to the entire security architecture. The numbers are indeed terrifying. For instance, the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey 2024, which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last December, revealed that Nigerians paid a whopping N2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers between May 2023 and April 2024.
According to the CESPS report, about 65 per cent of households that experienced kidnapping incidents paid an average ransom of N2.67 million, totalling N2.23 trillion. The report was released a day after the Nigerian 2024 yearly Human Rights Report revealed that at least 526 persons were killed in violent attacks and 949 others kidnapped by criminal elements in parts of the country.
Between 2019 and 2024, the socio-political risk consultancy firm, SBM Intelligence, corroborated that there have been 735 mass abductions in Nigeria. The firm estimated that between July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in 582 kidnapping cases, with about N5 billion ($3,878,390) paid in ransoms. The year 2024 alone recorded over 68 mass abductions for which ransom was involved.
But these are not just numbers in the psyche and homes of those kidnapped. They are real-life and death accounts of Nigerians in captivity, and attendant harrowing tales of confusion, distress and numbing uncertainty of what could have become of loved ones in the devil’s claws called kidnappers’ den. Especially for those who could afford, beg, borrow, or steal to secure the ransom, there is no price of freedom too high to pay for the safety of an abducted spouse, child, parent, sibling, friend or colleague.
Without a doubt, the security agencies have also been succeeding in busting kidnappers’ dens to free abductees. Some days ago, the Nigerian Armed Forces, in collaboration with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), said they have neutralised 13,543 terrorists and criminals, and rescued nearly 10,000 hostages between May 2023 and February 2025. And we salute their efforts. However, the question is, in what timeframe were these recoveries made? The freed 60 in Zango Kataf had been kidnapped for over a month! Some released victims had been in captivity for more than six months, going up to a year or more.
Reports have it that top military brass, including Generals, as well as government officials, donated massively towards securing the release of a former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Brig. General Maharazu Tsiga, after 56 days in a kidnapper’s den. So, Mr Ribadu is incorrect to have said: “We have never given any money to any of these people.” Picture that! How many families could endure their breadwinners, mothers or dependants languishing in the life and death limbo and its uncertainty when self-help measures have proven to be more effective than the state-owned apparatus?
The main problem, which Mr NSA should address, is that Nigerians do not trust the security agencies always to show up effectively. The CESPS report disclosed that 4,142,174 households experienced home robbery in one year out of a total of 51,887,032 crime incidents recorded. Yet, only about 36.3 per cent – a little over one-third of the victims – reported their experience to the police. “The most common reasons for not reporting crimes include lack of confidence in law enforcement and the belief that police intervention would not result in meaningful action,” the report conducted by the official record agency of the federal government stated. That is where the problem is, and it borders more on the side of the inadequacy of intelligence, coordinated communication and swift responses of the security agencies.
Before the digital revolution, which gave rise to phones, kidnapping for ransom was difficult in Nigeria. The point is that in carrying out kidnappings, criminals use either their own or their victims’ phones to negotiate ransoms and coordinate their operations. The government has already taken steps in digital banking and connecting the national identification number (NIN) with phone numbers, with millions of Nigerians thoroughly stressed to comply. Yet, how come such sensitive financial transactions and negotiation calls by kidnappers continue to elude security agencies while emboldening criminals on the other hand?
In the NSA’s answer lies the real solution to the kidnap-for-ransom enterprise, not in warning the helpless victims. The ultimate solution is for the army and the police to jointly employ very drastic measures against kidnappers and put a permanent end to their nefarious industry. Preventing kidnapping is much better and cheaper than seeking to rescue kidnapped victims.
