The kidnapping business seems to be in its boom season with kidnappers cashing out even more than ritualists, lol, that was just on a lighter note.
No wonder this illegal trade experienced a surge in the number of apprentice jumping into it.
Attempts by security agencies to curb this menace has proven abortive with these evil doers seeking new techniques to stay ahead of the curve.
With victim’s family pouring in ransom, which in this case we can refer to as investment, this business seems to have become the latest gold mine.
A latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) surfaced recently.
What we saw in that report is too heavy for our mouth to say, but we have to say it anyways.
You see, just between May 2023 and April 2024, the report has it that Nigerians paid a staggering ₦2.23 trillion as ransom to kidnappers.
Such investment, in fact, kidnapping should be added as a sector, just as we have education, health, and other sectors that gulp millions monthly.
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The data, published in the NBS Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, revealed that 65% of households affected by kidnapping resorted to paying ransoms to secure the release of their loved ones.
As reported: “The average amount paid as ransom was ₦2.6 million with an estimated total ransom of ₦2.23 trillion paid within the reference period.”
The survey also showed that kidnapping incidents totaled 2,235,954 across the country with rural areas experiencing a higher rate of kidnappings (1,668,104) compared to urban areas (567,850).