Inside Nigeria's Kidnapping Crisis: How Families in Borno Face Devastating Choices

Prolonged insecurity is forcing families to make painful choices over ransom, livelihoods, and their children’s education. In Maiduguri, Nigeria, when Musa Abdullahi Wakawa learned that his wife and seven-year-old son had been abducted, disbelief quickly gave way to fear. Then came the question confronting many families caught in Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis: How could he raise the ransom demanded for their release? For days, Musa searched for a way to bring his family home, confronting the financial burden imposed by the kidnappers.

Across northeastern Nigeria, families sell livestock, seek loans, dispose of property, and exhaust savings in the hope of securing the release of loved ones. In Borno State, kidnapping has become more than a security threat. Families are losing money, living with the trauma of abduction, and, in some communities, keeping their children away from school.

Laraba Dauda, 45, still remembers the last conversation she had with her younger sister, who was abducted on January 13, 2026, along the Biu–Buratai road. Shortly after the abduction, the phone rang as her sister called from somewhere in the bush. “Aunty, unknown people have kidnapped us and taken us somewhere in the bush. We don’t know where they are taking us. At this moment, Aunty, please just help me with your prayers,” Laraba recalled her sister saying. Months later, Laraba and her family still do not know where she is being held or whether she is safe, prompting her to call on the Nigerian government to intensify rescue efforts.

For Anjikwi Hena, his son’s disappearance came just as the family was looking towards a better future. His son was abducted on March 30, 2026, after completing his education and preparing to travel to Maiduguri in search of work, making the uncertainty especially painful for his father.

The kidnapping crisis is also threatening education in communities already weakened by years of rebellion. In Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, only 56 of 113 primary schools are currently functioning, according to Fasuma Askira, the local government education secretary. On May 15, suspected rebel fighters attacked Mussa and abducted dozens of children, leaving around 44 children still missing according to the Borno State government. Later, on June 29, armed rebels attacked the Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, leaving 36 students and a teacher in captivity.

The situation in Borno is part of a wider national problem. Amnesty International Nigeria reports that at least 1,100 people were abducted across the country between January and April 2026, with director Isa Sanusi noting that victims face severe hardships including torture, starvation, and sexual violence.

Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security Usman Tar stated that the government is employing both military and non-military measures, including the deployment of drones with thermal capabilities, to combat the security hotspots. Meanwhile, security analyst Professor Khalifa Dikwa described the situation as pathetic, emphasizing that kidnapping for ransom has transformed into a profitable enterprise that requires stronger intelligence and technology-driven operations to disrupt.