The Federal Government spent N57.78bn on security-related projects and operations in the first four months of 2026, despite worsening insecurity across the country, with no fewer than 98 criminal incidents including 51 attacks and abductions recorded nationwide in just one week.

Data obtained from the Open Treasury Portal showed that the spending, which covered defence equipment procurement, security infrastructure, military barracks, police facilities and other security-related projects, represented a 127.97 per cent increase from the N25.35bn spent during the corresponding period of 2025.

The expenditure comes amid persistent attacks by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and armed criminals across several states, raising concerns among security experts over the effectiveness of government efforts to tackle the crisis.

Analysis of the Treasury Portal data showed that N57.78bn had been spent as of April 2026 from a total security allocation of N4.66tn, indicating that only 1.24 per cent of the approved budget had been utilised within the first four months of the year.

The largest share of the expenditure, N21.39bn, was spent on defence equipment procurement, accounting for about 37 per cent of total security spending during the period.

Another N14.16bn was spent on security equipment, while N5.84bn went to the construction and provision of military barracks. The government also spent N5.17bn on police stations and barracks, N3.26bn on rehabilitation of defence equipment, N2.39bn on defence facilities and N2.16bn on repairs of military barracks.

For routine operations, N3bn was spent on security services, while N320.94m was disbursed as security votes.

However, no expenditure was recorded under the military operations budget line tagged “Operation Lafiya Dole and Other Operations of the Armed Forces,” despite a N500m provision in the 2026 budget.

Similarly, no funds had been released for the kitting of Armed Forces personnel, although N2.53bn was earmarked for the programme.

A year-on-year comparison showed that spending on defence equipment rose from N9.48bn in the first four months of 2025 to N21.39bn in 2026, while military barracks construction increased from zero to N5.84bn.

Despite the increase in spending, budget implementation remained low across most security projects, with many critical programmes recording execution rates below three per cent.

The spending figures emerged as a police security report obtained by The PUNCH revealed that at least 98 criminal incidents were recorded across Nigeria within the last seven days.

The report showed that the incidents comprised 37 homicide cases, 27 banditry attacks, 24 kidnappings, eight armed robbery incidents and two terrorism-related attacks.

Incidents were reported across Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi and several other states, involving mass abductions, attacks on rural communities and kidnappings along major highways.

Among the most disturbing incidents was the abduction of 39 residents in Zamfara State after they reportedly travelled into the Fadama Forest to negotiate peace with a notorious bandit leader, Jimo Smally.

In Katsina State, bandits blocked the Katsina-Kankara highway and intercepted a commercial vehicle carrying 11 passengers. Police later rescued nine victims, while the driver and another passenger remained missing.

Reacting to the development, security analyst, Lekan Jackson-Ojo, described the situation as the worst insecurity crisis in Nigeria’s history.

“This is the highest level of insecurity in the military and political history of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

“It is an indirect pronouncement that Nigeria is an unsafe territory now. We are having a battered economy, and there is no economy anywhere in the world that thrives under insecurity.”

Jackson-Ojo said the country had suffered unprecedented security losses in recent months.

“During the civil war, I did not remember if a general died. In the war between Ukraine and Russia, a general has not lost his life. In the war between Iran, America and Israel, a general has not lost his life. But within the past three months, we have lost almost four generals — and there is no reprisal attack,” he stated.

The analyst also criticised the reintegration of repentant terrorists into society.

“I’ve never heard it anywhere in the world that terrorists who have terrorised, damaged and killed will be integrated back into society. To me, I think the government is totally helpless — total incapability, lack of political will. Something, or many things are wrong now,” he added.

Further lamented what he described as the political elite’s preoccupation with electoral activities rather than security challenges.

“What preoccupies our political class is campaign, campaign, campaign and campaign. This is a sad situation,” he stressed.

Another security analyst, Chidi Omeje, argued that the military remained overstretched despite increased government spending.

“The military, on their own, are completely overstretched. You can count almost over 30 terrorist operations in this country where military guys are deployed,” he said.

“One MRAP alone is almost N100 billion. If you put an aircraft in the sky to do an operation, do you know how much it costs for just one hour? By the time you put that N56 billion in dollars, it amounts to nothing.”

According to him, military operations alone would not solve Nigeria’s security challenges.

“Unless we are able to deal with the root causes, we will keep going in circles. Most of the issues are born out of bad governance, wrong prioritisation, corruption and pervasive poverty, which has made people see crime and criminality as an option for survival,” Omeje said.

He also blamed porous borders and instability across the Sahel region for worsening insecurity in Nigeria.

“From Mali to Burkina Faso to Nigeria — those places are the epicentre of terrorism. Nigeria is an attractive destination because we have porous borders and poor border management,” he stated.

Omeje urged the government to take decisive action.

“The government seems almost clueless about how to go about this matter. They are paid to find solutions — so they must find solutions,” he said. (The PUNCH)

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