A security assessment cited by the Associated Press estimates that kidnappers collected more than $5.8 million in ransoms between July 2025 and June 2026. The report counted thousands of abductions, illustrating how kidnapping has become both a human emergency and an underground economy.
The financial cost is wider than ransom. Families sell property or borrow money; farmers avoid fields; transporters change routes; businesses shorten hours; and schools face pressure to spend scarce resources on security. Under-reporting also means the real burden is likely larger than any single dataset can capture.
A credible response needs secure rural corridors, faster emergency coordination, financial investigation of ransom networks, support for survivors and transparent prosecution. Without those pieces, the public is left carrying a private tax imposed by armed groups.
