Between May 2023 and April 2024, Nigeria witnessed a staggering 2.23 million incidents of kidnapping, with ransom payments totaling ₦2.2 trillion (about US$1.4 billion)—an amount that exceeds the country’s entire defence budget for 2024.
This alarming revelation is among the key findings in the 8th Nigeria SDG 16 Shadow Report, launched by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the national chapter of Transparency International Nigeria, at a side event during the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York , yesterday.
Executive Director ,CISLAC and Head of Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, emphasised the gravity of the situation in his comprehensive speech unveiling the report.
The report assessed Nigeria’s progress on Sustainable Development Goal 16, which prioritizses peace, justice, and strong institutions, during the period from July 2024 to August 2025. It highlighted not only setbacks ,but also stark realities around governance, corruption, insecurity, and institutional integrity.
Drawing attention to the persistently high crime rates, Rafsanjani revealed while presenting the report in New York that an overwhelming proportion of kidnappings occurred in rural areas—1.67 million out of the total 2.23 million recorded cases. The North-West region accounted for the highest ransom payments, estimated at ₦1.2 trillion, while the South-East recorded the least at ₦85.4 billion.
The sheer scale of ransom money exchanged, Rafsanjani noted, “reflects the privatization of insecurity at the expense of national stability,” pointing out that the amount paid by Nigerians in ransoms surpasses what the government allocated to defence in its national budget. “This commercialisation of kidnapping,” he said, “thrives due to weak governance and inadequate law enforcement.”
The CISLAC boss provided a sobering insight into Nigeria’s governance challenges, describing an entrenched culture of impunity among political leaders who routinely ignore constitutional obligations to declare assets, often diverting public funds into luxury properties both at home and abroad. “Such blatant disregard for accountability erodes public trust and shackles the work of anti-corruption agencies,” he stressed.
He further condemned the opaque processes surrounding asset recoveries,“carried out without transparent reporting or any meaningful post-recovery accountability,” thus creating fertile ground for recycled corruption.
The report provided further troubling evidence of institutional decay. The judiciary, security services, and electoral bodies—vital pillars of democracy,are increasingly seen as compromised, with allegations of irregularities and inadequate vetting processes undermining public confidence.
Rafsanjani noted:”The fragility of our governance system threatens the foundations of peace and justice we seek to build.”
In addition to these broad observations, he illustrated the human cost of corruption and impunity through real-world cases. The victimization of whistleblowers is a stark reality: Mubarak Bello, who exposed police payroll fraud in Katsina State, was instead arrested under questionable charges when he sought to protect transparency. Meanwhile, a UK tribunal exposed attempts by notable individuals to conceal illicit property ownership linked to prominent figures, while allegations about luxury properties owned abroad by the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory continue to demand urgent investigation.
The report also documents broader governance issues that compound insecurity and corruption. Despite a constitutional ruling by the Supreme Court affirming the Freedom of Information Act, compliance remains dismally low at just 11.4 percent. Civic space continues to shrink under increasing protest repression and surveillance. Corruption in procurement, vote-buying, and unchecked campaign finance violations persist unchecked. Transparency in fiscal management has also declined with the deactivation of the Open Treasury Portal and Nigeria scoring just 31 out of 100 in the Open Budget Survey.
Rafsanjani urged stakeholders to recognise that Nigeria’s setbacks in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals are not due to a lack of laws or institutions but rather a lack of political will to enforce and implement them. “As we approach 2030, the path to national renewal lies in strong institutions, a protected civic space, and genuine respect for the rule of law. Only then can we truly ensure that no one is left behind,” he concluded.
