These 10 Nigerian states recorded the most kidnapping victims in one year
Nigeria’s insecurity crisis remains far from over, with kidnapping continuing to affect thousands of people across the country, although the scale of the crisis varies sharply from one region to another. The post These 10 Nigerian states recorded the most kidnapping victims in one year appeared first on Nairametrics .
Nigeria experienced a significant kidnapping crisis in the year 2025-2026, with 7,825 people falling victim to kidnappings across the country. SBM Intelligence's report, titled The Capture of Nigeria's Kidnap Economy, reveals the regional disparities in kidnapping incidents. Benue recorded the highest number of kidnapping victims (145) across 32 incidents, with 15 civilian deaths and three kidnappers killed.
Kebbi had 216 kidnapping victims in 52 incidents, with five anti-kidnap operations, 33 civilian deaths, and one kidnapper killed. Kwara had the highest ransom demand (N7.375 billion) due to Boko Haram activity, with 265 kidnapping victims in 89 incidents. Kogi recorded 412 kidnapping victims in 85 incidents, with 20 civilians killed.
Niger accounted for N2 billion in ransom payments, primarily linked to the abduction of 315 pupils and staff of St Mary’s School. Katsina had the second-highest number of incidents (187) and civilian deaths (101), with 559 kidnapping victims. Kaduna recorded 814 kidnapping victims across 134 incidents, with 130 civilians killed.
Borno had the third-highest number of kidnapping victims (892) across 55 incidents, with 24 civilians and 13 security agents killed. Sokoto recorded the second-highest number of kidnapping victims (1,157) across 179 incidents, with 166 civilian deaths. Zamfara recorded the highest number of kidnapping victims (1,921) across 236 incidents, with 211 civilian deaths.
The North accounted for 93.7% of all kidnapping victims, with the Northwest dominating mass abductions.
Written by urgent.news from Nairametrics's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
