1.2.3. Banditry and kidnappings
Banditry is described as a multifaceted crime encompassing acts such as armed robbery, murder, rape, kidnapping,211 cattle rustling, armed attacks, and raids targeting local communities.212 Perpetrated by groups defined as ‘highly fragmented’ and diverse in terms of their capabilities and degree of organisation, violence arising from banditry has increasingly become both more widespread and lethal,213 spreading from the North-West to other regions and affecting remote villages, towns, and cities.214
During the reference period, banditry-related violence was reported in the country’s North-West215 and North-Central zones,216 as well as in Lagos and other areas of the South-West.217 Riding on motorbikes (okadas), the mobility, weaponry, and unpredictable nature of these groups have reportedly created widespread fear across communities, with anecdotal accounts from residents suggesting that the gunmen ‘can reach anywhere … whenever they want' and ‘kidnap at their own discretion.’218
During 2024, Nigeria Watch reported an increase in fatalities arising from rural banditry, cattle rustling and related government operations (1 452 deaths, compared to 892 in 2023), with most fatalities recorded in Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna.219 In mid-2025, a further ‘significant surge’ in violence linked to banditry was reported, particularly across Niger, Katsina and Zamfara.220
Early 2024 saw a rise in kidnappings for ransom across the country,221 including hundreds abductions in various parts of northern Nigeria in February and March 2024.222 According to a February 2024 study by the Nigeria-based polling agency NOIPolls, the prevalence of kidnapping was highest in the North-Central zone, followed by the South-West, North-West, and South-East.223 According to the consulting firm Nextier, 2 452 individuals were kidnapped during the year 2024, a 31 % rise over the 1 878 victims of kidnapping recorded in 2023.224 At the same time, abduction-related fatalities dropped in 2024, according to Nigeria Watch (425 deaths, compared to 536 recorded in 2023).225 2025 saw continued large-scale kidnappings226 and killings of abductees,227 with kidnappings remaining a ‘pervasive threat’ across multiple states as of mid-2025.228 Urban and rural areas, along with national highways, have emerged as vulnerable locations where kidnappings occur.229 Victims of kidnappings included villagers,230 travellers, political figures,231 large numbers of schoolchildren and IDPs,232 businesspeople, priests, and individuals perceived as being well-off.233 Several military operations were launched in April 2025 against hideouts of bandits in northwestern Nigeria.234
- 211
Ojewale, O., ‘Northwest Nigeria Has a Banditry Problem. What’s Driving It?’, IPI Global Observatory, 22 May 2024, url; Badiora, A.I., Terror attacks and kidnappings spread in Nigeria: why Lagos could be a target, The Conversation, 25 June 2024, url
- 212
Conversation (The), Nigeria’s growing security crisis: 6 essential reads, 22 April 2025, url
- 213
Wiehler, C. and Malefakis, M., Time to Make ‘Peace’ with the Bandits, CSS, April 2024, url, p. 1
- 214
Jones, M., & Kotarska, G., Crime, Terror and Insecurity in Nigeria. (RUSI Whitehall Report). Royal United Services Institute, 2025, url, p. 1
- 215
International Crisis Group, Restoring Nigeria’s Leadership for Regional Peace and Security, 11 December 2024, url, p. 8
- 216
HumAngle, What Is The Real Cause Of Attacks In Nigeria’s Middle Belt?, 4 February 2024, url
- 217
Conversation (The), Nigeria’s growing security crisis: 6 essential reads, 22 April 2025, url
- 218
Jones, M., & Kotarska, G., Crime, Terror and Insecurity in Nigeria. (RUSI Whitehall Report). Royal United Services Institute, 2025, url, p. 20
- 219
Nigeria Watch, Fourteenth report on violence 2024, 2025, url, p. 9
- 220
SARI Global, Weekly Update: Nigeria (July 4 - 10, 2025), 11 July 2025, url, p. 1
- 221
UNSG, Activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, S/2024/521, 1 July 2024, url, para. 17, 25; Badiora, A.I., Terror attacks and kidnappings spread in Nigeria: why Lagos could be a target, The Conversation, 25 June 2024, url
- 222
UNSG, Activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, S/2024/521, 1 July 2024, url, para. 25; HRW, Armed Groups Kidnap Hundreds Across Northern Nigeria, 18 March 2024, url
- 223
Channels TV, NOI Poll On Kidnapping: N/Central, N/West, S/West Record Highest Rate Of Kidnapping [Online video], 9 May 2024, url
- 224
Nextier, Mutations of Terror and Conflicts. 2025 Security and Conflict Outlook in Nigeria, February 2025, url, p. 29
- 225
Nigeria Watch, Fourteenth report on violence 2024, 2025, url, p. 10
- 226
AFP, 'Bandits' kidnap more than 50 people in Nigeria, 3 August 2025; BBC News, Nigeria kidnappers kill 35 hostages even after ransom paid, 29 July 2025, url; BBC News, Nigerian bandit kingpin and 100 followers killed, 12 April 2025, url
- 227
BBC News, Nigeria kidnappers kill 35 hostages even after ransom paid, 29 July 2025, url
- 228
SARI Global, Weekly Update: Nigeria (July 4 - 10, 2025), 11 July 2025, url, p. 1
- 229
Nextier, Mutations of Terror and Conflicts. 2025 Security and Conflict Outlook in Nigeria, February 2025, url, p. 6
- 230
BBC News, Nigerian bandit kingpin and 100 followers killed, 12 April 2025, url; Al Jazeera, Dozens kidnapped by rifle-wielding men in northwest Nigeria village, 10 December 2024, url
- 231
Badiora, A.I., Terror attacks and kidnappings spread in Nigeria: why Lagos could be a target, The Conversation, 25 June 2024, url
- 232
HRW, Armed Groups Kidnap Hundreds Across Northern Nigeria, 18 March 2024, url
- 233
Al Jazeera, Why mass kidnappings still plague Nigeria a decade after Chibok abductions, 3 April 2024, url
- 234
BBC News, Nigerian bandit kingpin and 100 followers killed, 12 April 2025, url