Research group SBM Intelligence said on Friday 28 August 2026 that Zamfara, Sokoto and Borno recorded the highest numbers of kidnapping victims in Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026.
The August report, The Capture of Nigeria’s Kidnap Economy, counted 7,825 victims in 1,411 incidents. The North accounted for 7,334 of those people, or 93.7 per cent.
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The South accounted for 6.3 per cent. SBM said it drew on public records, interviews and partner research, then checked the figures before publication.
Zamfara stood alone at the top. The state recorded 1,921 victims in 236 incidents, almost a quarter of the national total.
There were 211 civilian deaths, three kidnappers killed and 10 security agents killed. Only four anti-kidnap operations were listed.
Sokoto was second, with 1,157 victims in 179 incidents. The state saw 166 civilian deaths, four security-agent deaths and no recorded kidnapper deaths. Seventy-six mass abductions took 974 of those victims.
Borno was third, with 892 victims in 55 incidents. Twenty-four civilians and 13 security agents were killed. No kidnapper deaths were listed.
The largest single ransom payment in the country followed the abduction of 416 people in Ngoshe, where N5bn was reportedly paid.
Kaduna had 814 victims and the highest number of kidnappers killed, 74.
Katsina had 559 victims and the second-highest incident count after Zamfara, 187.
Niger had 496 victims and about N2bn in ransom, much of it tied to the seizure of 315 pupils and staff at St Mary’s School, Papiri. Kogi had 412 victims.
Kwara had 265 victims but the highest ransom demand among the listed states, N7.375bn, linked in part to Boko Haram around Woro and Wawa.
Kebbi had 216 victims and a return of school abductions.
Benue had 145 victims and the most anti-kidnap operations, 26.
By zone, the North-West had 4,771 victims and 680 incidents. The North-East had 1,497 victims.
The North-Central had 1,066. In the South, the South-West recorded 236 victims, the South-South 192 and the South-East 63.
Mass abductions shaped the year. SBM counted 396 such attacks and 6,222 victims, 79.5 per cent of everyone taken.
The North-West alone had 267 of those mass kidnappings, 67.4 per cent of the national total.
The firm blamed the northern concentration on the size of armed groups and on forests and other ground that is hard to police.
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The numbers describe a market as much as a security failure: many victims, few successful raids in the worst-hit states, and ransoms large enough to keep the trade alive.
Mariam Balogun is a contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
