Insecurity: 31 states spend N252bn on security in six months

By Frontline Reporters

No fewer than 31 state governments spent an estimated N252.26bn on security-related activities between January and June 2026, as governments intensified efforts to combat killings, kidnapping, banditry and other criminal activities across the country. Kogi, Plateau and Bauchi recorded the highest expenditures, accounting for about 32 per cent of the total captured in the latest fiscal data.

An analysis of the states’ Q1 and Q2 2026 budget performance reports, obtained from Open Nigerian States, a BudgIT-backed repository of government budget data, showed that Kogi led the table with N34.67bn, representing 13.74 per cent of the total. Plateau followed with N23.69bn, or 9.39 per cent, while Bauchi spent N22.35bn, representing 8.86 per cent.

Other states with recorded security-related expenditures included Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara. Akwa Ibom, Osun, Rivers and Yobe had no expenditure recorded in the listed categories, while Edo was also listed without figures. The Federal Capital Territory was not included in the dataset.

The expenditure covered security equipment, homeland security personnel, security votes and operations, ministries of security and special advisers, as well as security trust funds. The combined spending rose sharply from N75.84bn in 2025 to N252.26bn in 2026, although the year-on-year comparison is not strictly like-for-like because the latest dataset covers more states.

Security votes and related homeland security expenditure accounted for the largest share, rising from N47.67bn to N135.61bn, an increase of N87.94bn or 184.5 per cent. Spending under ministries of security and special advisers increased from N14.95bn to N42.15bn, while security trust fund expenditure rose from N6.82bn to N10.53bn. Security equipment alone accounted for N37.08bn, while homeland security personnel received N26.89bn.

Kogi’s N34.67bn was N10.98bn higher than Plateau’s expenditure and N12.31bn above Bauchi’s. Together, the three states spent approximately N80.70bn, representing 32 per cent of the total. Bayelsa ranked fourth with N17.49bn, followed by Ekiti with N14.83bn and Anambra with N13.40bn.

Sokoto spent N11.27bn, while Ondo and Kaduna recorded N10.54bn and N10.37bn respectively. Kebbi spent N10.14bn, Adamawa N9.95bn, Zamfara N9.07bn and Borno N8.29bn. Kano recorded N8.26bn, Katsina N7.21bn, Niger N5.36bn and Nasarawa N5.18bn.

The figures show that security spending was heavily concentrated in a relatively small number of states. The top five spenders—Kogi, Plateau, Bauchi, Bayelsa and Ekiti—accounted for about N112.15bn, or 44.8 per cent of the total, while the top 10 states accounted for approximately N157.65bn.

The surge in spending came against the backdrop of persistent insecurity nationwide. The National Human Rights Commission reported that its Human Rights Observatory documented 651 kidnapping incidents and 492 killings between January and March 2026, with the North-Central, North-West and North-East among the worst-affected regions.

Official mid-year operational figures also indicated that the military and other security agencies conducted about 14,000 operations during the first half of the year, killing 1,597 terrorists and insurgents and rescuing 1,516 kidnapped victims. Despite these operations and increased funding, insecurity continued to raise questions about the effectiveness and accountability of security expenditure.

Security experts and civil society organisations have consequently called for greater transparency and result-based budgeting. Retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Wilson Inalegwu, urged governors to stop making huge lump-sum allocations without clear security plans, arguing that each state should have measurable policing objectives against which security spending could be assessed.

Inalegwu advocated annual policing plans prepared by Commissioners of Police and reviewed periodically by governors and security advisers. Such plans, he said, should identify specific threats and determine whether resources should be deployed to patrol vehicles, surveillance cameras, drones, community policing or other security needs.

Similarly, retired Brigadier-General Bashir Adewinbi urged Nigerians to give the increased security funding a chance, saying the initiative could help governments acquire the technology and resources needed to confront terrorism and other threats. He, however, stressed that the success of the programme would ultimately depend on implementation.

Another retired military officer, Brigadier-General George Emdin, noted that security spending could not be attributed solely to banditry and kidnapping, stressing that state security votes had existed for years. He said Nigeria’s insecurity was multidimensional and therefore required different strategies rather than a single approach.

Civil society groups, however, demanded stronger accountability. Debo Adeniran, Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, said Nigerians had the right to know whether security allocations were reaching the personnel and agencies that needed them. He questioned the continued complaints about poor welfare and inadequate equipment among security personnel despite huge government expenditure.

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, similarly demanded details of procurements and projects funded with the money. He noted that the reported N252bn did not include some security votes controlled by governors and local governments, meaning actual state-level security spending could be considerably higher.

Rafsanjani also called on the Auditor-General and the National Assembly to strengthen oversight of security expenditure, warning that public funds allocated to protect lives and property must not become avenues for diversion or personal enrichment.

With insecurity continuing to affect communities across the country, the central question is no longer simply how much governments are spending, but whether the billions being committed are translating into fewer attacks, better intelligence, faster response, improved welfare for security personnel and greater protection for Nigerians. The scale of the expenditure makes accountability and measurable results increasingly imperative.

ADVERTISEMENTS