In April 2014, Boko Haram also kidnapped 276 girls from their school dormitory in Chibok, Borno State.
Attacks on locals by the Islamist militants occur frequently in northeastern Nigeria. Kidnapping for ransom is becoming commonplace too, according to the Nigerian security group SB Mogen. The region is also the scene of regular clashes between herders and farmers.
“It is a part of Nigeria, where three different violent actors are operating,” security analyst Audu Bulama Bukarti, told DW.
The rich and influential were initially targeted in kidnappings but now communities and villages are ransacked too, the latest report by SB Mogen notes.
“What we have found shows that between June 2011 and the end of March 2020, at least $18.34 million (€15.12) has been paid to kidnappers as ransom,” the report states. Just below $11 million of that figure was paid out between January 2016 and March 2020.
