Insider Narrative Of A Ransom Negotiator In Nigeria's kidnapping Crisis

SULAIMAN comes from Kaduna state, where 280 kids were kidnapped from a school in the town of Kuriga. His name has been changed to protect his identity.

He has been performing this contentious and dangerous job on an informal basis for a number of years now, ever since several of his relatives were kidnapped.

“We have to negotiate. You cannot use force to get hostages back. It would put the lives of our loved ones in danger,” he tells the BBC.

A year before paying ransoms became prohibited in Nigeria in 2021, Sulaiman initially entered into talks with kidnappers, known as bandits in the area.

He claims to have secured the release of about 200 hostages in the last three years—a negligible number compared to the thousands of victims kidnapped during the previous ten years.

It takes strength and patience to negotiate.

“From an undisclosed location, the government believes that I have been helping the bandits,” he states.

“The bandits think I have been getting money from the government, so I am also a kidnap target.”

He was attempting to obtain a ransom of approximately $12,500 (£9,800) for two of his kidnapped relatives when he engaged in his first negotiation.

“I did not know what I was doing. I was just speaking with the bandits - and begging them,” he says. 

Even though he had to sell his farm in his hometown to pay the ransom, his patient approach with the gang members paid off, and in the end, his relatives were set free.

As news of the successful rescue spread, other families kidnapped by the same person approached him for assistance. Before long, his phone was continuously busy.

He explains, “Almost everyone in my village has had a family member kidnapped,” and offers his assistance without charge.

And people still come to him in desperation for assistance, even after ransom payments were outlawed.

Being in this situation is frightening for Sulaiman, he acknowledges: “The government does not like negotiation with the bandits, and can send people to jail for doing that.”

His success, he claims, stems from his understanding of the underlying causes of Nigeria's abduction epidemic, which are mostly poverty and high rates of youth unemployment.

Farmers and cattle herders' competition for resources and land has also exacerbated the issue. Typically, the abductors are Fulani ethnic former herders who prey on areas primarily inhabited by Hausa farmers.

“I tell them that I know that they are living a difficult life in the bush, without electricity. I know that they feel they have been forgotten by the government.”

Usually consisting of gunmen on motorcycles, the gangs target certain neighborhoods and families based on the word of paid informants. It's a massive, highly organized scheme to make money.

The Centre for Democracy and Development, a think tank with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, estimates that there are over 30,000 bandits working in over 100 gangs throughout the country's northwest.

Sulaiman claims that the kidnapper's leader will determine whether or not his negotiations are successful: “Some bandits I have dealt with still keep hostages and want more money, even after you have paid the ransom.

“But some of them release the hostages as soon as you pay.”

The process can be difficult, requiring 20 to 30 phone calls and up to 50 days to free a hostage.

“You have to use soft language. They can be rude and they will insult you but you have to remain calm,” he says.

The kidnappers insist on getting ransom payments in cash since bank transactions are easily tracked, even if there is a dearth of banknotes in Nigeria.

According to Sulaiman, payments are typically made by a parent or other family member of one of the abductees.

“The bandit will call them and give them step-by-step directions on how to find them in the bush. Once they reach there, the bandit will count the money, note by note.”

As part of the ransom money, the assailants occasionally demand motorcycles in addition to cigarettes and alcohol.

Although there has never been any official proof, Sulaiman claims that the government paid about $2,370 for each student's freedom when he and other students were abducted from a university prior to the illegality of ransom payments.

“The government will never admit on the record they paid [even then] because for them that would be admitting failure. But as insiders we know what happened and we didn't have that kind of money,” he says.

Sulaiman, who participated in those negotiations, said that the kidnappers were eventually persuaded to drop their initial demand of about $32,000 for each captive.

Nowadays, few people can afford to raise the money needed for ransoms, with the communities left to pick up the tab. For the funds, they frequently turn to crowd funding, yet this is currently proving challenging as well because of how the unpredictability has destroyed the economy.

When there is no possibility of payment, bandits have been known to either kill or release their hostages.

According to Sulaiman, the latest wave of widespread kidnappings from schools and the threats to kill the pupils could be a ruse to draw attention from the police because “they think the government will pay.”

Though this is consistently refuted, there are claims that the government has occasionally continued to pay ransoms.

Additionally, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the security services to guarantee the release of the recently abducted Kuriga children, stating emphatically that “not a dime” will be paid for them.

Armed bands wanted more than $6 million in ransom payments between July 2022 and June 2023, according to a research by security risk consultancy firm SBM Intelligence.

The government and the ransom negotiator both believe that keeping up the payments will only encourage the abduction industry: “If I can advise the government, they should meet these people and have dialogue with them.”

Until then, Sulaiman worries that there may be another kidnapping case when his phone rings.

Resolved to continue serving his community, he makes sure to answer the phone.

BBC