Kidnappers have killed at least 42 security agents across different parastatals across the country in the last year, a new report has revealed.
According to a report SBM Intelligence published on Thursday, titled ‘Grim Reaping: The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry’, there were over 1,130 reported cases of kidnapping in the country and 42 security operative deaths in the space of a year.
The parastatals of these security agents include the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigerian Army, local vigilante groups, and members of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
This report also showed that the criminals killed most of these operatives in Kaduna State, even though Zamfara had the highest number of kidnap incidents for the period under review. Following Kaduna were Zamfara, Rivers, Borno, Abia, Imo, Niger, Enugu, Taraba, Bauchi and Plateau.
The data also showed how civilians were the most vulnerable in kidnap incidents, as over 1,000 people were killed between July 2023 and June 2024.
“In the national figures, more civilians have died during kidnap attempts than both kidnappers and security agents combined. Out of 1,130 reported kidnapping incidents, 1,056 people were killed, making kidnapping increasingly lethal across the country,” the report stated.
“On average, someone is killed in nearly every kidnapping attempt, with civilians being the primary victims rather than the kidnappers themselves.”
The data also revealed that the number of people abducted in mass abductions rose from 1,099 victims in 2023 to 3,277 this year. It stated that, between January and June, there were 135 mass abductions with at least five persons abducted per incident.
Additionally, more than 3,000 people were captured by abductors in this type of incident, and 125 of them were killed.
“From January to June, 135 mass abductions—kidnap incidents with at least five victims per incident—have been reported, with 3,277 people kidnapped and 125 people killed,” the report stated.
“Zamfara leads the pack with more incidents (24) but with a slightly lower number of abducted persons (680) than its closest competitors, Kaduna (21; 629) and Katsina (23; 545). Borno would have been trending less than it did if not for the Gamboru incident, where 319 internally displaced women and girls were abducted.
“This abduction bumped the number of persons kidnapped in mass abductions in the state to 348 from the four incidents reported.
“It is important to note that, comparatively, in 2024, more people were kidnapped in large-scale abductions (3,277 victims) than in incidents where fewer than five people were taken (1,099 victims).”
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The killing of security operatives by kidnappers corroborates FIJ’s February report that revealed that a single police officer was in charge of 540 Nigerians, against the recommendation of the United Nation’s one police officer to 450 citizens.
Additionally, in March, Muhammad Badaru, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, blamed persisting insecurity and terrorism in northern Nigeria on the dwindling manpower of the Nigerian Army.
“The military is not enough, what the bandits do is take advantage of soft targets. They find out where there is absence of the military, they attack and run to the bushes,” Badaru told journalists.
“The government’s commitment to defeating insurgency is a comprehensive security strategy and community engagement remains unwavering. We are pursuing a whole-of-the-government approach in handling the counter-insurgency and anti-banditry operations.”
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