By Adeola Kunle
No fewer than 31 state governments spent an estimated ₦252.26 billion on security-related activities in the first six months of 2026, even as killings, kidnappings, banditry and other forms of criminality continued across Nigeria.
An analysis of fiscal performance reports for the first and second quarters of 2026 showed that Kogi, Plateau and Bauchi states recorded the highest security-related expenditure among the states covered.
The analysis, based on budget performance data from January to June 2026, showed that Kogi State spent ₦34.67 billion, representing 13.74 per cent of the total recorded expenditure. Plateau followed with ₦23.69 billion, while Bauchi spent ₦22.35 billion.
The states covered in the security expenditure data include Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara. Akwa Ibom, Edo, Osun, Rivers and Yobe recorded no expenditure under the listed security-related categories.
The spending covered areas such as security equipment, homeland security personnel, security operations and votes, security ministries or special advisers, and security trust funds.
The figures represented a sharp increase in state-level security spending, rising by ₦176.42 billion, or 232.6 per cent, from the ₦75.84 billion recorded in 2025 to ₦252.26 billion in the latest data.
However, a comparison involving the 22 states for which corresponding 2025 figures were available showed that their combined expenditure rose from ₦75.84 billion in 2025 to about ₦144.44 billion in 2026, an increase of approximately ₦68.61 billion or 90.5 per cent.
Security votes and related homeland security expenditure increased from ₦47.67 billion to ₦135.61 billion, while spending under security ministries and special advisers rose from ₦14.95 billion to ₦42.15 billion. Security trust fund expenditure also grew from ₦6.82 billion to ₦10.53 billion.
The huge spending came amid persistent security challenges, including terrorism, kidnappings, banditry, killings and communal violence.
Data from the National Human Rights Commission’s Human Rights Observatory showed that 651 kidnapping incidents and 492 killings were documented between January and March 2026, with the North-Central, North-West and North-East among the most affected regions.
Security concerns remained severe in the second quarter, with reports indicating that 792 people were killed in 882 security incidents across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in June alone.
Official mid-year operational figures also showed that the military and other security agencies carried out about 14,000 operations during the first half of 2026, resulting in the killing of 1,597 terrorists and insurgents and the rescue of 1,516 kidnapped victims.
Kogi, Plateau and Bauchi Lead Spending
Kogi State’s ₦34.67 billion expenditure was the highest in the data, placing it ahead of Plateau’s ₦23.69 billion and Bauchi’s ₦22.35 billion.
Together, the three states spent approximately ₦80.70 billion, accounting for about 32 per cent of the total security-related expenditure captured in the analysis.
Bayelsa ranked fourth with ₦17.49 billion, followed by Ekiti with ₦14.83 billion and Anambra with ₦13.40 billion.
Other major expenditures included:
- Sokoto — ₦11.27bn
- Ondo — ₦10.54bn
- Kaduna — ₦10.37bn
- Kebbi — ₦10.14bn
- Adamawa — ₦9.95bn
- Zamfara — ₦9.07bn
- Borno — ₦8.29bn
- Kano — ₦8.26bn
- Katsina — ₦7.21bn
- Niger — ₦5.36bn
- Nasarawa — ₦5.18bn
- Ebonyi — ₦4.72bn
- Kwara — ₦4.69bn
- Delta — ₦4.63bn
- Oyo — ₦3.82bn
- Enugu — ₦3.46bn
- Cross River — ₦2.43bn
- Ogun — ₦1.73bn
- Imo — ₦1.52bn
- Taraba — ₦1.38bn
- Abia — ₦766.72m
- Lagos — ₦615.12m
- Jigawa — ₦395.33m
- Gombe — ₦48.02m
- Benue — ₦1.58m
The top five spending states — Kogi, Plateau, Bauchi, Bayelsa and Ekiti — accounted for about ₦112.15 billion, or 44.8 per cent of the total, while the top 10 states represented approximately 66.9 per cent of the expenditure.
The figures also showed that security spending did not always correspond directly with the level of insecurity in each state. For example, Zamfara, Borno, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi, which remain major centres of banditry and insurgency, collectively spent about ₦56.04 billion, representing roughly 22.2 per cent of the total captured.
Experts Demand Accountability and Results
Speaking on the rising expenditure, retired Brigadier-General Bashir Adewinbi described the increased funding as a positive effort to address Nigeria’s security crisis but said the effectiveness of the initiative would depend on how the money was eventually deployed.
He said dedicated funding could enable governments to acquire technology and other resources needed to confront terrorism and related threats, but cautioned against judging the initiative before its implementation could be assessed.
A former Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Wilson Inalegwu (retd.), called for a more structured and result-based approach to security funding.
He argued that governors should avoid making large lump-sum allocations without clear plans, recommending that Commissioners of Police prepare annual policing strategies that identify specific threats, equipment needs and measurable targets.
According to him, such plans could include requirements for patrol vehicles, surveillance cameras, drones and other equipment based on the security challenges facing individual states.
Inalegwu also advocated regular reviews to determine whether funds allocated to security were actually reducing crime and improving public safety.
He further urged governors to strengthen community policing structures provided for under the amended Police Act 2020.
Retired Brigadier-General George Emdin, meanwhile, noted that the huge expenditure should not be attributed solely to the current fight against banditry and kidnapping, pointing out that governments had historically maintained security votes.
He said Nigeria’s security challenges were multidimensional and would require different strategies to tackle the various threats.
Civil Society Groups Question Spending
The Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said Nigerians had the right to demand accountability for money allocated to security.
He questioned whether the huge sums were reaching security agencies and personnel who required improved welfare and equipment, noting that complaints about inadequate resources continued despite the massive expenditure.
Adeniran said the effectiveness of security spending should ultimately be measured by improvements in the protection of lives and property.
Similarly, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, questioned whether the reported funds had produced corresponding improvements in security.
He called for greater transparency regarding the equipment, projects and services funded through security allocations and urged the Auditor-General for the Federation to provide detailed information on security-related expenditure.
Rafsanjani also argued that the reported ₦252.26 billion does not include security votes controlled by state governors and local governments, suggesting that the actual amount spent on security could be considerably higher.
As state governments continue to increase security funding, the central question remains whether the rising expenditure will translate into better intelligence, faster emergency responses, improved equipment and greater protection for Nigerians.
Adeola Kunle
No comments:
Post a Comment