Under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian government has allocated a staggering N3.2 trillion to the security sector within the past year.
Despite the substantial investment, the country continues to grapple with widespread kidnappings and killings, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the expenditures.
In the third quarter of the 2023 fiscal year, the Nigerian Defence Ministry received N412 billion, the Ministry of Police Affairs was allocated N150 billion, the Office of the National Security Adviser received N31 billion, and the Ministry of Interior was granted N64 billion.
The figures, as revealed by the Open Treasury Portal, amount to a total of N657 billion allocated to security in just the third quarter of 2023.
The fourth quarter of 2023 saw an even higher allocation, with the Defence Ministry receiving N487 billion, the Ministry of Police Affairs N282 billion, the Ministry of Interior N119 billion, and the Office of the National Security Adviser N113 billion.
In total, N1 trillion was funnelled into security agencies and ministries in this quarter alone. Consequently, the combined expenditure on security for the third and fourth quarters of 2023 reached N1.657 trillion.
The spending spree continued into 2024, with N1.032 trillion allocated to the Defence Ministry between January and June. The Ministry of Police Affairs received N424 billion, and the Office of the National Security Adviser was granted N223 billion.
This six-month period alone saw N1.6 trillion spent on security, bringing the total amount spent on security ministries and agencies between the third quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024 to N3.2 trillion.
However, despite these vast sums, the impact on the ground remains questionable. The Nigerian Army, which received N426 billion in the first half of 2024, the Navy (N140 billion), the Air Force (N121 billion), and the Defence Intelligence Agency (N13.7 billion) continue to struggle with the persistent security challenges plaguing the nation.
