A comprehensive study of the impurity-induced magnetism in nonmagnetically (Mg2+) and magnetically (Co2+) doped PbNi2V2O8 compounds is undertaken by both macroscopic dc magnetization and local-probe electron spin resonance (ESR) techniques. The magnetic coupling between impurity-liberated spins is estimated from the linewidth of the low-temperature ESR signal in Mg-doped samples. In the case of magnetic cobalt dopants the impurity-host magnetic exchange is evaluated from the Co-induced contribution to the linewidth in the paramagnetic phase. The experimentally observed severe broadening of the ESR lines in the magnetically doped compounds is attributed to a rapid spin-lattice relaxation of the Co2+ ions. The exchange parameters obtained from the ESR analysis offer a satisfactory explanation of the impurity-induced contribution to the low-temperature magnetization in doped samples.