Massacre After Ransom: 35 Hostages Slain by Nigerian Kidnappers Despite Payment

📰 iNewsAfrica | National Security Report

Zamfara, Nigeria | July 29, 2025 | In a chilling turn of events, at least 35 villagers abducted in Zamfara State have been killed by their captors despite ransom payments, sparking outrage and grief across Nigeria and the diaspora.

The victims—part of a group of 56 residents kidnapped in March from the Banga community in Kaura Namoda—were reportedly executed after the abductors received negotiated payments of ₦1 million per person (approx. $655 USD). Only 18 hostages were released, including several women and a child. The rest, mostly young men, were slaughtered in what community members described as a “merciless and deliberate act of betrayal.”

“They were butchered like animals after the money was sent,” a grieving relative told reporters, adding that the bodies may never be returned—a tactic increasingly used to instill fear and silence victims’ families.

A Nation in Crisis

This atrocity underscores the deepening security crisis in northern Nigeria, where armed bandits—distinct from ideological extremists—roam freely, abducting civilians for profit. Analysts say the absence of effective deterrence, weak law enforcement, and rising poverty have turned rural areas into hunting grounds for ransom.

Over the past decade, Nigeria has recorded more than 1,400 student abductions and thousands of civilian kidnappings, with communities repeatedly paying ransoms in hopes of securing release—often with tragic results.

Demand for Accountability

Local leaders are now calling for urgent federal intervention, including a special security task force, better surveillance, and mass arrests of known criminal syndicates. Human rights groups are also urging the Nigerian government to ban ransom payments—a measure some say may reduce the profitability of abductions, while others warn it could escalate killings.

As Nigeria mourns the victims, the tragedy is a sobering reminder of the high cost of insecurity, the fragility of rural communities, and the need for bold, coordinated action to end the cycle of fear and bloodshed.

🗣️ “Nigeria cannot ransom its way out of lawlessness,” one analyst warned. “The state must restore its authority—or risk losing its soul.”