Kidnappings in Nigeria's Borno State Are Depleting Family Savings, Keeping Children Out of School, and Leaving Relatives in Captivity for Months

For families in northeastern Nigeria, the abduction of a loved one is only the beginning of an ordeal that can stretch for months and drain every resource a household possesses. In Borno State, kidnapping has evolved from a sporadic threat into a sustained crisis that is reshaping daily life, forcing relatives to sell livestock, take on debt, dispose of property, and exhaust whatever savings they have in the hope of securing a captive's freedom.

The experience of Musa Abdullahi Wakawa illustrates how quickly disbelief turns to desperation. When he learned that his wife and seven-year-old son had been taken, the immediate question was not whether he would see them again, but how he could possibly assemble the ransom demanded for their release. For days, he searched for a way to bring his family home. His struggle mirrors that of countless households across the region who confront the same financial trap: pay, or lose a family member indefinitely.

That trap is often set within hours of an abduction, when captors force their victims to call relatives and deliver demands directly. Laraba Dauda, 45, still recalls the last conversation she had with her younger sister, who was seized on January 13, 2026, along the Biu–Buratai road. Shortly after the abduction, the phone rang. Her sister was calling from somewhere in the bush, her voice carrying the first news that she and others had been taken by unknown men and did not know where they were being led.

"Aunty, unknown people have kidnapped us and taken us somewhere in the bush. We don't know where they are taking us. At this moment, Aunty, please just help me with your prayers," Laraba remembers her sister saying before the call ended in tears. Months later, the family still has no idea where she is being held or whether she is safe, and Laraba is appealing to the Nigerian government to intensify rescue efforts for those who have spent more than six months in captivity.

For Anjikwi Hena, the loss arrived just as his household was looking toward a better future. His son had completed his education and was preparing to travel to Maiduguri in search of work when he was abducted on March 30, 2026. His father had encouraged him and prayed for his success. Instead, the young man vanished into captivity, and Hena says the closeness of their relationship has made the uncertainty especially difficult to bear.

The crisis is also dismantling education in communities already worn down by years of insurgency. In Askira-Uba Local Government Area, only 56 of 113 primary schools are currently functioning, according to Fasuma Askira, the local government education secretary. Before an attack in May, 76 primary schools were operating. The threat of violence subsequently forced authorities to close another 20, leaving fewer than half of the area's schools open.

That May 15 attack on Mussa saw suspected rebel fighters abduct dozens of children. A register later obtained by news services identified 40 missing children, though figures provided by the community and government have varied; the Borno State government has more recently referred to about 44 children still missing from Mussa. Then, on June 29, armed rebels attacked the Government Day Secondary School in Lassa while students were sitting National Examinations Council examinations. Some students were recovered shortly afterward, but 36 students and a teacher have been reported as remaining in captivity.

The attacks have deepened fears among parents and teachers who already live with the threat of rebel violence. The education authority moved junior secondary students from Mussa to a government boarding school in Uba and advised the local government to deploy community vigilantes around schools. Soldiers have also been deployed in Mussa and Lassa alongside local vigilantes, according to Askira. For families in these communities, keeping a child in school now means weighing access to education against the risk of another attack.

Borno's ordeal reflects a national problem. Amnesty International Nigeria says at least 1,100 people were abducted across the country between January and April 2026, while warning that the real figure could be considerably higher because many incidents in remote communities go unreported. Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said that beyond killing people, gunmen are now on a rampage of abductions, largely for lucrative ransom, with some victims held for months at the mercy of their captors in punishing conditions.

The rights organization says victims can face torture, starvation, and sexual violence, while families are often forced to raise money under extreme pressure. Amnesty has also warned that the fear of abduction is pushing children out of school, particularly in rural communities, where the collapse of schooling is both an immediate hardship and a long-term threat to the region's recovery.

Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security Usman Tar said the government is using both military and nonmilitary measures to confront the insecurity. He acknowledged that the state has several security hotspots, including the Biu-Buratai axis and the Biu-Damboa-Sabon Gari area. "We are putting in place both kinetic and non-kinetic measures in order to overcome the problem," Tar said.

He said the state government is working closely with the armed forces by providing additional logistical support and civilian volunteers to assist field operations. "This has enabled us to dominate the hotspot axis," he said, adding that attacks had reduced in some affected areas. The government is also deploying technology, including drones equipped with thermal capabilities to monitor the movement of criminals, Tar said. Authorities, he added, are advising commuters to avoid dangerous routes where possible and are working to ensure that people involved in kidnapping and other criminal activities are prosecuted.

Tar acknowledged the humanitarian and psychological toll on families. He said senior government officials had visited affected households to offer condolences and reassurance, while authorities also provided financial assistance through the State Emergency Management Agency and the state humanitarian agency, with fixed sums disbursed under those programs. Yet for families still waiting for a sister, a son, a wife, or a child to return, such measures offer little relief against the mounting costs—financial, emotional, and educational—of a crisis that shows no sign of ending.