How can Nigeria stop its kidnap crisis?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2025
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In November gunmen seized more than 300 pupils and a dozen teachers from a Catholic school in northern Nigeria. While authorities have rescued around 100 children, many remain missing.
Kidnapping has become a recurring reality in many parts of the country, and in late 2025 President Bola Tinubu declared the crisis a national security emergency. He pledged to boost security in remote areas, but rights groups say the true scale of abductions is hidden by widespread underreporting.
The sheer number of kidnappings has also drawn international attention. The United States President has spoken of sending troops to assist, and France’s President Emmanuel Macron has offered broader help to tackle insecurity.
This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking: How can Nigeria stop its kidnap crisis?
Contributors
Dr Kachi Madreke, politics and international relations scholar, University of Aberdeen, UK
Dr Jumo Ayandele, clinical assistant professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, US
James Barnett, non-resident research fellow at the Centre on Armed Groups
Dengiyefa Angalapu, research analyst at the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja, Nigeria
Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Evie Yabsley Editor: Tom Bigwood Technical Producer: James Bradshaw Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
(Photo: Nigeria demonstration about student kidnapping. Credit: Kola Sulamon/Getty Images)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.4 | Welcome to The Inquiry with me, Tanya Beckett from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.1 | One question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:17.8 | In November, gunmen in northern Nigeria abducted over 300 pupils and 12 teachers from a Catholic school. |
| 0:27.4 | Weeks later, the country's authorities rescued 100 of the children from their kidnappers. |
| 0:32.9 | But the remainder of the pupils and 12 teachers are still believed to be in captivity. |
| 0:40.0 | Abductions have become a frequent occurrence in Nigeria, and in November 2025, |
| 0:46.0 | the president, Bolotanubu, declared the issue a national security emergency. |
| 0:52.2 | Human rights groups say hundreds, and in some years, thousands of people are |
| 0:57.2 | abducted. They're thought to be widespread underreporting due in part to fears of retaliation. |
| 1:04.7 | In 2022, the Nigerian government made the paying of ransoms illegal, but that hasn't stopped it happening, and it's also |
| 1:12.5 | pledged to increase security in remote areas. But the sheer numbers have provoked international consternation. |
| 1:20.7 | US President Donald Trump has talked of sending American troops to the country. Meanwhile, |
| 1:26.9 | France's President Emmanuel Macron has offered help to the country. Meanwhile, France's President Emmanuel Macron |
| 1:28.8 | has offered help to defeat insecurity in Nigeria more broadly. But with abduction still a regular |
| 1:37.2 | occurrence, this week on the inquiry, we're asking, how can Nigeria stop its kidnap crisis? |
| 1:46.5 | Part 1. The Rise in Kidnapping. |
| 1:52.0 | Kidnappings in Nigeria first exploded into the public consciousness just over a decade ago in 2014, |
| 2:00.1 | when 276 female students were abducted from their school |
| 2:05.0 | in the northeast of Nigeria. Boko Haram, a jihadist group which demands the establishment of an |
| 2:12.5 | Islamic state in Nigeria, claimed responsibility. The kidnapping gained attention around the world |
| 2:20.4 | and sparked the social media campaign, hashtag, |
... |
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