The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has raised concern in its latest SDG 16 Shadow Report over the dangers posed by asset secrecy and the growing kidnap-for-ransom economy in Nigeria. The report notes that weak accountability and opacity in asset recovery are undermining justice, peace, and strong institutions, which are central to the Sustainable Development Goals.
According to the report, between May 2023 and April 2024, an estimated ₦2.2 trillion was paid in ransom across more than two million kidnapping incidents nationwide. CISLAC’s Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, described this trend as the “privatisation of insecurity,” warning that the ransom trade is rapidly becoming a parallel economy that thrives on systemic corruption and poor law enforcement.
The report urged urgent reforms, including stricter enforcement of asset declaration laws, transparency in asset recovery, stronger whistleblower protections, and more effective security oversight. It stressed that without these measures, Nigeria risks falling short of achieving SDG 16 by 2030.
