By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
Security experts, policymakers, and academics have raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s worsening security situation, revealing that Nigerians paid more than ₦30 billion in ransom to terrorists and bandits in 2025, a figure reportedly higher than that recorded in 2024.
The disclosure was made on Thursday at a high-level stakeholders’ dialogue held at the headquarters of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in Abuja.
The high-level dialogue, themed “Multi-Dimensional Security Threats: Banditry-Terror Nexus, Criminal Economies and the Future of Violence in Nigeria,” brought together security practitioners, researchers, government officials, and development partners to examine the evolving nature of insecurity across the country.
Participants warned that Nigeria is facing a complex web of security challenges driven by terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, illegal mining, arms trafficking, and other illicit economic activities that continue to fuel violence and undermine state authority.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Kabiru Adamu, Managing Director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, disclosed that available records indicate Nigerians paid over ₦30 billion in ransom to criminal groups in 2025 alone.
According to him, insecurity in Nigeria has evolved beyond isolated criminal acts into highly coordinated and adaptive networks sustained by transnational and domestic criminal economies.
“In recent years, the nature of insecurity has evolved beyond isolated criminality to more networked and adaptive forms of violence, underpinned by criminal economies such as arms trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, and informal taxation systems imposed by non-state armed groups,” he said.
Adamu noted that in many conflict-affected communities, residents are increasingly forced to pay taxes and levies to armed groups rather than government authorities in exchange for access to farmland, markets, and protection.
He warned that terrorist and bandit groups are becoming more sophisticated, increasingly relying on high-impact asymmetric warfare tactics, coordinated attacks, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and drone technology to challenge security forces and disrupt public order.
Earlier, the Resident Representative of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Nigeria, Lennart Oestergaard; Executive Director of the CLEEN Foundation, Peter Maduoma; and Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, emphasized the urgency of addressing the country’s multidimensional security challenges.
They described the dialogue as a timely and evidence-driven platform aimed at understanding the growing links between banditry, terrorism, and illicit economies, as well as their implications for national stability and development.
The speakers noted that persistent insecurity has created widespread fear, uncertainty, displacement, and economic hardship for millions of Nigerians, stressing that sustainable solutions must address the underlying governance and socio-economic factors fueling violent extremism and organized crime.
Experts at the conference identified illegal mining, kidnapping for ransom, arms smuggling, and informal taxation by armed groups as major sources of funding for criminal and terrorist networks.
They warned that unregulated mining activities, particularly in parts of northern Nigeria, have become significant revenue streams for criminal groups, enabling them to recruit fighters, procure weapons, and sustain long-term operations.
Adamu further cautioned that increasing collaboration between bandit groups and terrorist organizations poses a serious threat to national security, especially in the North-West and North-East regions, where criminal networks continue to exploit weak governance structures and ungoverned spaces.
The conference also featured presentations by Tunji Ogunyemi of Obafemi Awolowo University, who spoke on criminal economies as drivers of conflict, and Gloria, who examined the political economy of illegal mining, kidnapping, and illicit taxation.
Meanwhile, Etannibi Alemika advocated reforms in security governance, including greater accountability and improved coordination among security agencies.
Panel discussions focused on the implications of the growing banditry-terror nexus for Nigeria’s security strategy and counter-terrorism policies, with participants calling for stronger intelligence-sharing mechanisms, community-based security approaches, economic reforms, and improved governance to address the root causes of insecurity.
Stakeholders concluded that unless urgent and coordinated measures are taken to dismantle criminal economies and strengthen state institutions, violent networks may continue to expand, posing a significant threat to Nigeria’s stability, economic development, and national cohesion.
