The Global Advisor Kidnap & extortive crime | April 2025
Africa
The number of reported kidnaps in Nigeria increased by 21% in the first quarter of 2025 relative to the same period in 2024. A wide range of perpetrators, including bandit groups, Islamist extremists such as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have engaged in more kidnaps. Perpetrators in Q1 continued to target victims across various sectors, including retail, real estate, logistics, healthcare and humanitarian organisations. Kidnappers will retain the capability to break into compounds to abduct commercial personnel, as exemplified by the kidnap of two humanitarian workers in Borno state in February. Meanwhile, the Sahel region saw a spate of abductions that involved a wide range of foreign victims, including an Austrian humanitarian worker in the Agadez region in Niger and two Chinese oil workers in the Diffa region of Niger; all three reportedly remained in captivity as of early April 2025. The kidnap threat will continue to stem from Islamist extremist groups, such as Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), as well as financially motivated criminals. Perpetrators will continue to view foreign nationals as lucrative targets and will retain the infrastructure to hold high-value victims in captivity for extended periods, often for years. The M23 rebel group takeover of Goma and Bukavu in the Congo (DRC) in Q1 has enabled rebels and financially motivated criminals to engage in kidnapping with relative impunity. M23 rebels in late February reportedly abducted at least 130 patients from two separate hospitals in Goma, accusing the victims of being members of the pro-DRC government Walazendo militia or the Congolese army
(FARDC). The M23 will continue to rely on the crime as a means of territorial control and forced recruitment, while criminal groups will likely exploit the security vacuum to escalate their reliance on kidnapping-for-ransom. Somalia , as well as the eastern counties of Kenya , continued to present one of the highest-risk areas for kidnapping in the region. Control Risks recorded a limited uptick in kidnapping activity in these areas over Q1, following multiple cross-border abductions into eastern Kenya and releases of proof of life videos. Humanitarian and health workers will continue to face the highest kidnap threat in these areas, as kidnappers will view them as lucrative targets or seek to exploit their technical skills.
60 % of abductions happened in transit/outdoors 85 % of abductions resolved in less than 8 days 15 sectors affected
Key developments January to March 2025
The number of reported kidnaps across Sub-Saharan Africa remained comparatively stable in Q1 2025 relative to the same period in 2024. However, Nigeria saw a 21% increase in reported kidnaps over the same timeframe. Foreign commercial personnel continued to face a prevalent kidnap threat across the Sahel region , with Q1 seeing an uptick in abductions of foreign nationals. The M23 rebel group’s takeover of Goma (North Kivu province) and Bukavu (South Kivu province) in Congo (DRC) has enabled rebels and financially motivated criminals to engage in kidnapping with relative impunity. Kidnapper activity saw a limited
uptick in eastern Kenya and Somalia, following multiple cross-border abductions and releases of proof of life videos.
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