Senate orders crackdown on bandits flaunting crime cash on TikTok

 

Abuja, FCT – By Prime Brief Media

Nigeria's kidnapping crisis has reached industrial scale, with approximately 2.2 million abduction incidents and an estimated N2.2 trillion paid in ransom in a single year, according to data attributed to the National Bureau of Statistics and cited by a leading criminologist.

Professor Oyesoji Aremu, a professor of security and criminal justice, presented the staggering figures at a national security forum in Abuja on Sunday. He described the kidnapping economy as "well-organised, deeply networked, and possibly one of the largest illicit financial flows in the country."

"We are talking about 2.2 million incidents. Behind those numbers are shattered families, traumatised victims, and a criminal enterprise that rivals the legitimate economy in volume. This is not just insecurity; it is a parallel economic system," Aremu said.

The N2.2 trillion in ransom payments, if accurate, would exceed the annual budget of several states combined and represents a massive transfer of wealth from legitimate households to criminal networks. The professor called for a comprehensive national strategy that combines kinetic operations with financial intelligence to disrupt the payment and laundering of ransom proceeds.

The Nigeria Police Force has not officially confirmed the NBS figures, but the Inspector-General of Police recently acknowledged that kidnapping for ransom has become one of the most pervasive and profitable crimes in the country.

Prime Brief Media will continue to track security and rescue efforts across the state as this story develops.

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