Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Why have mass kidnappings been happening in Nigeria? If they're by terrorists groups, why? What do they want?
Executive summary
Mass kidnappings in Nigeria have surged in recent years and spiked again in November 2025 with attacks that took roughly 303 students and 12 teachers (CAN’s figure) from St Mary’s School and at least 25 girls from another boarding school, adding to a string of high-profile abductions [1] [2] [3]. Reporting and analysts point to multiple perpetrators and motives — criminal “bandit” gangs seeking ransom, jihadist groups with political/religious aims, and overlapping local conflicts — with financial gain described as the principal driver for many kidnappings while some violent groups pursue insurgent or political objectives [4] [2] [5].
1. Why kidnappings have become common: a fractured security landscape
Nigeria’s north and centre are plagued by overlapping insecurity — criminal gangs (“bandits”), jihadist insurgents (Boko Haram/ISIS–West Africa and other Islamist groups), and communal violence — creating vast areas where the state’s reach is weak and kidnappers can operate and hide, which has made mass abductions a recurring problem [4] [6] [2].
2. Who the usual kidnappers are: criminal gangs vs. jihadists
Journalists and rights groups distinguish two broad perpetrators. In the northwest and central states, “bandit” gangs — loosely organised criminal groups without clear political or religious goals — frequently abduct for ransom and shelter in forests; in the northeast and border regions, jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and ISIS–West Africa have used kidnappings as part of their insurgency and ideological campaigns [4] [5] [6].
3. The principal motive: money, but not always only money
Security experts and analysts identify financial gain as the dominant motive: kidnapping-for-ransom has become an illicit economy pillar and funds group operations and livelihoods of criminal networks [2] [4]. However, some kidnappings serve broader aims — political pressure, prisoner exchanges, media attention, or religious/political control — particularly when carried out by jihadist groups that seek to destabilise the state or advance an ideological agenda [2] [5].
4. Why schools and churches are targeted: soft, symbolic, and high-return targets
Schools and religious sites are chosen because they are soft targets with many vulnerable people and often poor security; mass abductions generate high public attention and, for ransom-focused groups, a potentially large payout. Islamist insurgents have also targeted schools historically because of ideological opposition to Western-style education [4] [7].
5. How different actors frame responsibility and why that matters
When jihadist groups like Boko Haram claim kidnappings (as they did with Chibok in 2014), events are framed as terrorism and spark international responses; when bandits abduct for ransom, governments and communities often treat incidents as criminality. This distinction affects policy responses — military counterinsurgency versus policing and local development — but in practice the lines blur and multiple groups sometimes exploit the same conditions [5] [4] [2].
6. Government responses and their limits
Nigeria has outlawed ransom payments and declared some groups terrorist to broaden military powers, and federal authorities have at times mobilised security operations and emergency recruitments; yet critics — including rights groups — say protections for schools have been inadequate despite commitments such as the Safe Schools Declaration [8] [3] [9]. Available sources note closures of many federal boarding schools and emergency measures after the November 2025 wave [10] [11].
7. Humanitarian and political fallout: attention, grief, and geopolitical headlines
High-profile kidnappings generate national grief, domestic political pressure on the government, and international attention that can be amplified by external actors. The November 2025 mass abductions heightened scrutiny of Nigeria’s security and fed debates abroad about persecution narratives and possible foreign interventions; reporting highlights the complex reality that victims include both Christians and Muslims, and that violence’s drivers are often non-religious [11] [12] [13].
8. What remains uncertain or contested in reporting
Available sources do not uniformly identify a single perpetrator for the November 2025 mass abductions; several reports say no group had claimed responsibility for the largest attack and that local analysts point toward bandits for ransom motives, while Islamist groups remain active in neighbouring regions and sometimes carry out kidnappings for ideological reasons [1] [4] [3]. Sources disagree in emphasis — some stress criminal economics [2] while others emphasise the continuing jihadist threat [6] — and both perspectives are necessary to understand the phenomenon.
Summary takeaway: mass kidnappings in Nigeria are driven principally by a profitable kidnapping economy carried out by criminal gangs in many areas, but they occur alongside politically or ideologically driven abductions by jihadist groups; the weak state presence, porous borders and insecure communities allow both dynamics to coexist and complicate solutions [2] [4] [5].