A faction of Boko Haram and its allied cells reportedly collected about 90 per cent of all documented ransom payments in Nigeria between July 2025 and June 2026.
According to SaharaReporters, citing a new report by SBM Intelligence, the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad faction received approximately ₦7.0015 billion from only eight recorded kidnapping incidents.
The amount represented 90 per cent of the ₦7.779 billion in ransom payments documented nationwide during the period.
Bandits Collected ₦719.4m From 146 Cases
By comparison, bandits and unaffiliated kidnapping groups linked to 146 cases reportedly collected a combined ₦719.4 million, representing 9.2 per cent of the national total.
These groups demanded approximately ₦13.492 billion but received only 5.3 per cent of the amount.
JAS and its allied cells reportedly demanded ₦9.205 billion and received 76.1 per cent, showing a significant difference in the negotiating power and financial returns of the two categories of kidnappers.
SBM said the figures suggested that Nigeria’s kidnapping industry remained widely dispersed when measured by ransom demands but had become heavily concentrated when measured by actual payments.
Two Abductions Produced ₦7bn
Two mass-abduction incidents accounted for almost the entire amount reportedly received by the Boko Haram faction.
In April 2026, a faction allegedly commanded by Ali Ngulde abducted 416 people from Ngoshe in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
The group reportedly issued a 72-hour demand for ₦5 billion. SBM said the entire amount was eventually paid, making it the largest single ransom payment recorded in its annual series.
The second major payment was linked to the November 2025 abduction of 315 pupils and staff members from St Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State.
Multiple intelligence sources consulted by SBM reportedly placed the ransom paid in that incident at ₦2 billion.
Together, the Ngoshe and Papiri abductions generated approximately ₦7 billion—nearly the entire ransom amount attributed to JAS and its allied cells.
Report Warns of Terrorism Financing
SaharaReporters reported that SBM described the concentration of ransom payments in the hands of one armed group as a structural shift in Nigeria’s kidnapping industry.
The intelligence firm warned that ransom payments to terrorist groups could be used to acquire weapons, pay fighters, maintain logistics networks and finance further abductions.
The development means that kidnapping is no longer merely a criminal enterprise but is increasingly becoming a funding mechanism for organised insurgency.
Record Ransom Demand Paid in Full
SBM observed that the ₦5 billion demanded in the Ngoshe incident was also reportedly paid in full.
It was the first time in the history of the annual report that the highest ransom demand and the highest confirmed payment were identical.
The firm said the development demonstrated the leverage available to an armed group holding hundreds of hostages and capable of threatening their lives.
Payments More Than Tripled
Across Nigeria, ransom demands fell from ₦48 billion in the previous reporting cycle to approximately ₦22.9 billion.
However, confirmed payments rose from ₦2.56 billion to ₦7.78 billion, while the collection rate increased from 5.35 per cent to 34 per cent.
SBM attributed the sharp increase mainly to the two mass-abduction payments rather than a general improvement in the ability of ordinary kidnapping gangs to collect ransom.
SBM Demands Action on Financial Flows
SBM Intelligence called for a coordinated strategy targeting the financial networks supporting insurgency and the underlying economic conditions that make recruitment into armed groups possible.
The firm warned that treating kidnapping only as a policing problem would be insufficient when ransom proceeds were being channelled into organised terrorist operations.
It urged authorities to disrupt the movement of ransom proceeds while addressing the economic desperation that supplies armed groups with recruits.
The ransom amounts and attribution to specific armed groups are findings contained in the SBM Intelligence report and have not been independently confirmed by the affected families or Nigerian security authorities.
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