Not all kidnappings are the same — by Uche Nnadozie

I now understand why some Nigerians insist that “kidnapping is kidnapping.” To many citizens, the pain is the same regardless of who commits the crime. However, from a security and policy perspective, not all kidnappings are the same, and treating them as identical often leads to wrong perceptions and solutions.

The nature, structure, objectives, and operational methods of a criminal group should determine how the state responds.

Urban kidnappers are primarily economic criminals. Their goal is usually straightforward: abduct a victim, demand ransom, collect money, and disappear. Their activities are transactional and profit-driven. Notorious kidnappers such as Evans and similar gangs that have operated in major cities targeted individuals for financial gain. They did not seek to control territory, challenge state authority, or establish alternative systems of governance.

Terrorist kidnappers are different.

Groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, violent bandit networks operating across parts of the North-West, Plateau, Benue, Niger and separatist-linked violent elements like IPOB in the South-East often use kidnapping as only one tool in a broader campaign. Their objectives frequently go beyond money.

Terrorist groups seek to:

• Control territory and deny government access to communities.
• Establish parallel authority structures where residents obey their rules instead of the state’s.
• Impose taxes, levies, or protection payments on communities.
• Restrict farming, fishing, grazing, or movement unless payments are made.
• Force communities to seek permission before conducting weddings, burials, or other social activities.
• Recruit fighters and expand their operational networks.
• Spread fear to influence political, religious, or ideological outcomes.
• Use hostages as bargaining chips for the release of detained leaders or members.
• Attack security forces, government facilities, and critical infrastructure.
• Conduct mass abductions to attract national and international attention.
• Displace populations and create humanitarian crises that weaken state control.

Urban kidnappers hide from the state.

Terrorists seek to challenge the state.

Urban kidnappers want ransom.

Terrorists want influence, territory, legitimacy, recruits, and sometimes ransom.

Urban kidnapping is criminality.

Terrorist kidnapping is often part of an insurgency, extremist campaign, or “organized” effort to undermine government authority.

This distinction is important because security responses must be tailored to the threat, and citizens must know the difference. A police-led anti-crime strategy may be effective against urban kidnapping gangs. However, terrorist groups that control territory, recruit fighters, extort local communities, and attack security forces require a broader, often expensive counterterrorism, intelligence, and military response.

Nigeria’s recent security breaches remind us that understanding the enemy is the first step toward defeating them. Every kidnapping is a crime, but every kidnapping is not the same. Until we accurately identify the nature of each threat, we risk a public perception that undermines genuine heroic efforts or applying the wrong solutions to the wrong problems.