By Chesa Chesa
The government has been advised to adopt a coordinated, intelligence-led approach to tackling kidnapping in North-West Nigeria by targeting the wider criminal networks, financial flows and facilitators sustaining the illicit trade.
The recommendation is contained in a new analysis by Nextier researchers, Dr Chibuike Njoku and Dr Ndu Nwokolo, titled “Value Chain of Kidnapping in N’West Nigeria: Understanding How the Negotiation Works.”
They said conventional responses that focus largely on apprehending abductors and securing victims’ release fail to adequately address the wider networks and financial incentives sustaining the crime.
According to the report, at least 3,407 people were abducted in approximately 1,000 reported kidnapping incidents across Nigeria between January and July 2026, with the North-West accounting for 496 incidents involving 1,287 victims.
Zamfara recorded the highest number of incidents in the region, with 196 cases involving 563 victims, followed by Sokoto with 115 incidents and 411 victims.
The researchers noted that kidnapping in the region is closely linked to other illicit activities, including banditry, cattle rustling, extortion and artisanal gold mining.
They recommended a shift from an incident-based approach to a strategy aimed at disrupting the entire kidnapping value chain, from abduction and custody to communication, negotiation, ransom payment and distribution of proceeds.
The report called for the establishment of a National Kidnapping-Network Intelligence Framework through which security agencies would share intelligence on recurring perpetrators, facilitators, intermediaries and communication links.
It said a centralised system would enable agencies to connect intelligence gathered across states and identify patterns linking seemingly unrelated kidnapping cases.
The researchers also recommended that authorities treat ransom proceeds as a financial-intelligence problem, urging law-enforcement agencies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, financial institutions and prosecutors to strengthen mechanisms for tracing and investigating proceeds of kidnapping.
They said financial investigations should begin alongside kidnapping investigations, with particular attention paid to identifying beneficiaries, facilitators and assets acquired from ransom payments.
The report further recommended the establishment of a framework for community intermediaries, noting that traditional rulers, religious leaders, community leaders and other trusted individuals often play important roles in facilitating communication during kidnapping incidents.
It urged government to establish clear protocols for their engagement, including reporting and coordination mechanisms.
Another recommendation was that post-release investigation should be made mandatory in every resolved kidnapping case.
According to the researchers, investigators should document information obtained after a victim’s release concerning perpetrators, facilitators, communication channels, intermediaries and financial transactions, and integrate the information into national and state intelligence databases.
The report also called for kidnapping intelligence to be integrated with investigations into other illicit economies, including cattle rustling, illegal mining, arms trafficking and extortion.
Security and intelligence agencies, it said, should cross-reference cases to identify common actors, locations, facilitators and financial networks and coordinate investigations where links are established.
The researchers further recommended that each North-West state develop and maintain an updated kidnapping profile, covering trends, hotspots, dominant criminal actors, victim patterns, intermediaries, links to other illicit economies and potential intervention points.
