Nigeria, Aug. 27 -- About 7,825 people were kidnapped in the year between July 2025 and June 2026, with at least N7.78 billion paid in ransom, SBM Intelligence said in its recent report on the issue. The report also states that Boko Haram pocketed over 90 per cent of the ransom paid during the period.

The research firm stated this in a new report titled 'The Capture of Nigeria's Kidnap Economy', released on 27 August.

The report, which covers incidents between July 2025 and June 2026, notes that a total of 1,411 kidnapping incidents were recorded. It added that about 963 people were killed, including 68 security agents.

While noting that the ransom demanded decreased from N48 billion in the preceding year to N22.9 billion, the firm sai...