Rights Group Chides Fed Govt, States Over Recurrent Abductions, N7.8bn Ransom

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has described the reported abduction of 7,825 Nigerians and payment of N7.8 billion in ransom within one year as a direct indictment of the federal and state governments over their failure to adequately protect the lives and property of citizens.
The association made its position known in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Friday, following the latest report by SBM Intelligence titled, “The Capture of the Kidnap Economy.”

According to the report cited by HURIWA, 7,825 persons were abducted while 1,142 were killed in 1,713 kidnapping and related incidents between July 2025 and June 2026.

HURIWA described the figures as alarming and unacceptable in a constitutional democracy where the protection of lives and property remains one of the fundamental responsibilities of government.
The association called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to urgently strengthen Nigeria’s legal framework for combating kidnapping and terrorism.

It specifically urged the National Assembly to conclude necessary amendments to counter-terrorism and other relevant laws to ensure that kidnapping linked to terrorism attracts severe punishment, while guaranteeing fair trial, due process and the constitutional right of appeal.

HURIWA also called on state governments to stop treating the enforcement of existing death sentences as a political issue.

The association said where competent courts had imposed capital punishment after due process and all legally available appeals had been exhausted, the law should be allowed to take its course in accordance with the Constitution and applicable legislation.

It argued that certainty and prompt enforcement of lawful punishment for the most heinous crimes could serve as an important deterrent, alongside effective policing, intelligence gathering and prosecution.

The rights group also expressed concern over the continued rehabilitation, deradicalisation and reintegration of persons described as repentant terrorists.

While acknowledging that rehabilitation and deradicalisation could have a place in counter-insurgency policy, HURIWA said persons convicted of serious terrorism offences should not be released or reintegrated without rigorous judicial, security and intelligence assessments.

“Terrorism is a grave crime against humanity and the Nigerian state must ensure that anyone convicted of terrorism-related offences faces the full consequences of the law,” the association said.

It warned that no rehabilitation programme should become a revolving door through which dangerous elements return to society without adequate safeguards.

HURIWA called for the immediate deployment of modern technology in the fight against kidnapping and terrorism.

It urged the federal and state governments to invest in drones, satellite surveillance, intelligence-gathering systems, digital forensics, communication interception capabilities and other technologies capable of identifying criminal hideouts, tracking movements and protecting vulnerable communities.

The association questioned why kidnappers who negotiate ransom through mobile communications should repeatedly evade identification when security and intelligence agencies possess communication-monitoring and interception capabilities.

It urged the intelligence community to move beyond reactive operations and develop proactive systems capable of identifying kidnappers, their financiers, communication networks, logistics channels and safe havens before attacks occur.

HURIWA also called for a restructuring and strengthening of Nigeria’s financial intelligence architecture to track funds generated through kidnapping, terrorism and other organised crimes.

The association urged the government to ensure that competent professionals are appointed to coordinate efforts to trace illicit funds.

It said ransom payments should be aggressively investigated, with proceeds traced and frozen where legally possible and used as evidence to prosecute criminal networks and their financial facilitators.

According to HURIWA, the billions of naira paid to kidnappers constitute more than ransom payments, as they provide a major source of financing for weapons acquisition, recruitment and the expansion of criminal operations.

The association said the scale of successful kidnappings and ransom collections pointed to weaknesses in intelligence gathering, sharing and operational coordination.

It therefore called on the National Security Adviser to establish a stronger joint intelligence and operational framework involving the military, police, Department of State Services, financial intelligence agencies and other relevant security institutions.

“Nigeria cannot continue to have several security agencies collecting intelligence separately without a sufficiently coordinated mechanism for analysing, sharing and acting on such intelligence in real time,” it said.

HURIWA also said the forest guard initiative could only succeed if the Federal and state governments demonstrated commitment to recruitment, training, equipment and effective deployment.

It said the initiative had been undermined by inadequate preparation, funding and operational coordination.

The association urged authorities to properly train and equip forest guards to provide local intelligence and support conventional security forces in denying kidnappers and terrorists access to forests and other hideouts.
It also urged the government to address economic conditions that make vulnerable youths susceptible to recruitment by criminal organisations, while ensuring that convicted criminals do not exploit rehabilitation programmes to return to violent activities.

HURIWA said the reported abduction of thousands of Nigerians within one year, alongside the payment of billions of naira to criminal groups, should be treated as a national emergency.