“Sue FG, demand refund of Ransom Payments”, Falana Urges Kidnap Victims
…says Nigerians lost N2.23 trillion to kidnappers in one year.
TEC News|17th November, 2025.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has urged Nigerians who have paid ransom to kidnappers to take the Federal Government to court and demand a refund, insisting that the state has failed in its constitutional responsibility to protect citizens.
Falana made the call on Saturday at the opening of the Legal Year of the Faculty of Law, University of Abuja. He argued that the trillions of naira paid as ransom across the country were a direct consequence of government’s dereliction of duty regarding security of lives.
According to him, both the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights clearly mandate the government to safeguard the lives and property of citizens. When that obligation is breached, he said, victims have the right to seek legal remedy.
Falana criticised what he described as a “two-tier security system”, lamenting that the government moves swiftly when high-ranking officials or politically exposed persons are abducted, but leaves ordinary Nigerians to negotiate with criminals on their own.
“If a judge, minister or ex-minister is kidnapped, the government orders immediate rescue. But for ordinary citizens, their families are left to scramble for ransom. Since all citizens are equal before the law, victims are entitled to go to court and demand the government refund the ransom,” he said.
His remarks came against the backdrop of disturbing new figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024 shows that between May 2023 and April 2024, Nigerians paid a staggering N2.23 trillion in ransom to kidnappers. An estimated 2.2 million kidnapping incidents occurred within the period, with an average payment of N2.7 million per victim.
Security experts warn that kidnapping has grown into a structured criminal industry, fuelled by weak policing, porous borders, and the absence of strong political will.
Falana maintained that beyond seeking refunds, legal action would compel the government to finally address a crisis that has shattered countless families across the country.
“It is the duty of the government to protect every life. If that life is threatened or taken, the government must pay for it,” he declared.
As kidnapping cases surge nationwide, Falana’s proposal could set the stage for a landmark legal and political confrontation over state accountability in an era of worsening insecurity.
