How kidnappings are hitting Nigeria’s Borno families hard

What the report says

In a report from Maiduguri, Al Jazeera said kidnappings across Nigeria’s Borno State are forcing families into painful financial and personal choices, with some selling livestock, borrowing money or using up savings to secure the release of relatives. The article centers on cases such as Musa Abdullahi Wakawa, whose wife and seven-year-old son were abducted, and other families still waiting for information about missing loved ones.

The report says the crisis is affecting more than household finances. In parts of Borno, fear of abduction is also disrupting schooling, especially in communities already weakened by years of insurgency. Al Jazeera cited local education officials saying only 56 of 113 primary schools are functioning in Askira-Uba Local Government Area after attacks and closures. The article also described assaults in Mussa and Lassa in 2026 that left students and a teacher missing, underscoring how insecurity has spread into schools.

Al Jazeera placed the Borno case within a broader national pattern of kidnappings for ransom in Nigeria. Amnesty International Nigeria said at least 1,100 people were abducted nationwide in the first four months of 2026, while warning the true number may be higher. The report quoted a security analyst who said kidnapping had become a profit-driven criminal enterprise that can sustain armed groups.

The state government told Al Jazeera it is using military, police and other measures, along with technology and support for affected families, to respond to the violence. The article suggests the crisis is both a security and humanitarian emergency, leaving communities to weigh survival, school attendance and the danger of further attacks.