By SUNTV Global | February 27, 2026
A poor Nigerian man and nine others remain in captivity as kidnappers demand N100 million for their release, highlighting the growing crisis of abductions and ransom in the country.
Haruna Mohammed Salisu, a journalist and nephew of one of the hostages, told SUNTV Global that his uncle’s abduction has exposed the limits of Nigeria’s declared nationwide security emergency. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced in November 2025 that there would be ‘no more hiding places for agents of evil,’ yet three weeks into my uncle’s captivity, nothing has been done,” Salisu said from the United States.
According to Salisu, the kidnappers initially assessed his uncle’s family’s ability to pay but later increased the ransom to N100 million – equivalent to 119 years of minimum-wage earnings in Nigeria. “A subsistence farmer would need 250 years of harvest to raise this amount,” he said.
Data from the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics shows that between May 2023 and April 2024, Nigerians paid approximately $1.42 billion in ransoms, illustrating the scale of the kidnapping economy. Salisu said the state counts “bandits killed, not hostages returned,” a measurement choice that he argues prioritizes optics over lives.
The family had initially refrained from going public, fearing that Salisu’s residence in the United States could inflate the kidnappers’ demands. He now hopes that public attention will pressure the Department of State Services, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, and the Office of the National Security Adviser to act.
“The Talakawas of Nigeria are dying, being abducted, and ransomed,” Salisu said. “This must stop. Not because of my uncle, but because the Constitution guarantees the right to life and security for all Nigerians.”
Efforts to reach the federal security agencies for comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
