Evaluating the Failure of Anti-Kidnapping Strategies in Kaduna State, Nigeria: A Governance and Policy Analysis (2010–2020)

Between 2010 and 2020, Kaduna State experienced a sharp escalation in kidnapping, despite repeated military operations and legislative interventions. This study evaluates why anti-kidnapping strategies failed by applying a systematic qualitative research design to 55 peer-reviewed articles, institutional reports, and forensic datasets. Using thematic analysis guided by PRISMA protocols, the study finds that reactive, kinetic operations produced only short-term displacement of armed groups. The persistence of a governance void in rural LGAs allowed kidnapping to evolve into a self-sustaining ransom economy, where proceeds funded advanced weaponry and intelligence networks. Three case studies—Greenfield University, Bethel Baptist High School, and the Abuja-Kaduna train attack—illustrate how institutional weakness, intelligence deficits, and judicial bottlenecks reinforced criminal audacity. The analysis reveals a deterrence deficit, with successful prosecution rates below 5%, which lowered the perceived cost of offending and normalized violence as a livelihood strategy. Drawing on anomie, deterrence, institutional, and social exchange theories, the study argues that kidnapping functions as a governance failure rather than solely a security problem. It concludes that effective policy requires integrating territorial control, disruption of financial flows, and judicial reform. The findings contribute a Governance Void Model to explain the cycle of violence and offer policy pathways for restoring state credibility in contested peripheries.