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Over 2,300 people kidnapped in Nigeria in 6 months

N10 billion was demanded in ransom to free the abducted hostages.
President Muhammadu Buhari [Presidency]
President Muhammadu Buhari [Presidency]

A report by SBM Intelligence shows that a total of 2,371 people were kidnapped in Nigeria between January and June 2021.

The geopolitical intelligence platform in the July 12 report said these abductions were conducted in a total of 281 separate incidents across the entire country.

"237 people lost their lives in these kidnap attempts," the report read.

February was the worst month as 605 people were kidnapped, followed by 534 in March, and 355 in May.

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The highest number of victims were kidnapped in Niger State with a total of 643, followed by Zamfara with 519, and Kaduna with 360.

The figure for Kaduna is considered to be higher, as the state government announced in April that a total of 949 people were kidnapped between January and March alone.

SBM's data was collated from media reports of selected organisations, and Nigeria Security Tracker.

The platform said a total of N10 billion was demanded in ransom to free the abducted hostages, but it's unclear how much of that was paid.

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