At least 31 Nigerian states spent an estimated N252.26 billion on security-related measures in the first six months of 2026, as governments intensified efforts to tackle killings, kidnapping, banditry and other threats despite continued insecurity across the country.
An analysis of state budget performance data for January to June 2026, obtained from Open Nigerian States, a BudgIT-backed repository of government budget information, showed that Kogi recorded the highest expenditure at N34.67 billion.
Plateau followed with N23.69 billion, while Bauchi spent N22.35 billion. The three states accounted for about N80.71 billion of the expenditure captured in the dataset.
The spending covered security equipment, homeland security personnel, security votes and operations, ministries responsible for security and special advisers, as well as security trust funds.
Other states with recorded expenditure were 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, Edo, Osun, Rivers and Yobe had no expenditure recorded under the listed categories in the supplied data, while the Federal Capital Territory was not included.
The latest figures represent a substantial increase in state-level security spending. Across the states covered, expenditure rose from N75.84 billion in 2025 to N252.26 billion in 2026, an increase of N176.42 billion, or 232.6 per cent.
However, the year-on-year comparison is not on a like-for-like basis because the 2026 dataset contains more states. Among the 22 states for which comparable 2025 figures were available, expenditure increased from N75.84 billion to approximately N144.44 billion, representing a rise of N68.61 billion, or 90.5 per cent.
Security votes account for largest share
Security votes and related homeland security expenditure accounted for the largest component of the 2026 spending, rising to N135.61 billion from N47.67 billion in the previous year.
The increase of N87.94 billion represents a growth of 184.5 per cent.
Expenditure under ministries of security and special advisers also rose significantly, from N14.95 billion to N42.15 billion, an increase of N27.20 billion, or 181.9 per cent.
Spending on security equipment stood at N37.08 billion, while N26.89 billion was spent on homeland security personnel.
Security trust fund expenditure increased from N6.82 billion to N10.53 billion, representing a rise of N3.71 billion, or 54.4 per cent.
Kogi’s N34.67 billion represented 13.74 per cent of the total expenditure captured in the analysis. Plateau’s N23.69 billion accounted for 9.39 per cent, while Bauchi’s N22.35 billion represented 8.86 per cent.
Bayelsa ranked fourth with N17.49 billion, followed by Ekiti with N14.83 billion and Anambra with N13.40 billion.
Sokoto recorded N11.27 billion, while Ondo and Kaduna spent N10.54 billion and N10.37 billion respectively. Kebbi recorded N10.14 billion.
Adamawa spent N9.95 billion, Zamfara N9.07 billion and Borno N8.29 billion.
Kano recorded N8.26 billion, Katsina N7.21 billion, Niger N5.36 billion and Nasarawa N5.18 billion.
Ebonyi spent N4.72 billion, Kwara N4.69 billion, Delta N4.63 billion and Oyo N3.82 billion.
Enugu recorded N3.46 billion, followed by Cross River with N2.43 billion, Ogun with N1.73 billion, Imo with N1.52 billion and Taraba with N1.38 billion.
Abia recorded N766.72 million, Lagos N615.12 million and Jigawa N395.33 million.
Gombe spent N48.02 million, while Benue recorded just N1.58 million across the categories contained in the supplied data.
Spending rises amid continued violence
The increase in security expenditure comes against a backdrop of persistent violence, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes and other criminal activities.
The National Human Rights Commission’s 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.
The security situation remained challenging in the second quarter. Data from SARI Global cited by The PUNCH indicated that 792 people were killed in 882 security incidents across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in June alone.
Official mid-year operational figures also showed that 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.
The figures have nevertheless raised questions about whether increased spending is translating into improved security outcomes and whether state-level allocations are being used efficiently and transparently.
Year-on-year increases
Among states with comparable figures, Anambra recorded the sharpest percentage increase, with its security expenditure rising from N22.10 million in 2025 to N13.40 billion in 2026.
Plateau’s spending increased by N11.46 billion, or 93.7 per cent, from N12.23 billion to N23.69 billion.
Sokoto rose by N9.23 billion, or 452.3 per cent, from N2.04 billion to N11.27 billion, while Bayelsa increased by N8.35 billion, or 91.4 per cent, to N17.49 billion.
Zamfara’s expenditure climbed by N8.28 billion, or 1,054.1 per cent, from N785.90 million to N9.07 billion. Kaduna increased by N6.03 billion, or 139 per cent, while Ondo rose by N5.38 billion, or 104.3 per cent.
Kwara’s spending increased by N4.37 billion, or 1,385.1 per cent, from N315.79 million to N4.69 billion. Adamawa rose by N4.20 billion, or 73.1 per cent, to N9.95 billion.
Delta recorded a N3.59 billion increase, while Jigawa and Gombe rose by N367.7 million and N27.6 million respectively.
Not all states recorded increases. Oyo’s expenditure fell from N6.76 billion to N3.82 billion, a decline of about N2.94 billion, or 43.5 per cent.
Taraba’s spending fell from N2.58 billion to N1.38 billion, while Borno declined from N9.56 billion to N8.29 billion.
Kano, meanwhile, increased its spending from N5.35 billion in 2025 to N8.26 billion in 2026, a rise of N2.91 billion, or 54.3 per cent.
Experts demand result-based security spending
The increase in state security expenditure has prompted calls for greater accountability and a stronger link between funding and measurable security outcomes.
Retired Brigadier-General Bashir Adewinbi commended the increased funding, describing the move as an effort to strengthen the government’s response to terrorism and other security threats.
He nevertheless said Nigerians should wait to assess how the funds were ultimately deployed before reaching conclusions about their effectiveness.
“It is commendable that they are coming together for the first time to take the bull by the horns,” he said, adding that the effectiveness of the initiative would depend on implementation.
Adewinbi said the additional resources could help governments acquire technology and other equipment required to tackle terrorism and related threats.
However, retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police Wilson Inalegwu called for a more structured approach, arguing that governors should not simply allocate large sums to security without clear objectives.
He advocated result-based budgeting, under which state Commissioners of Police would prepare annual policing plans identifying specific security challenges, required resources and measurable targets.
Such plans, he said, could cover kidnapping, banditry, farmers-herders clashes, insurgency, separatist agitation, cultism and election-related security threats.
“My position is slightly different. I don’t understand when governors just slam or spend N200 billion, whatever amount, on security. I believe in process,” Inalegwu said.
He argued that governors should be able to assess whether funds provided to the police were producing the promised results through periodic reviews of crime statistics.
According to him, a state could, for example, identify a particular security problem and set a target for reducing reported cases within a defined period.
“If we do this and do that, are you going to reduce the crime rate?” he said, describing the approach as result-based budgeting.
Inalegwu also urged governors to strengthen community policing structures established under the amended Police Act 2020.
He said effective community policing would improve grassroots intelligence and public participation in crime prevention.
The retired police officer also cautioned against purchasing technology without first establishing the security need it was intended to address.
“Technology is good, but it is a policing plan that will reveal what you need,” he said.
Security spending must be accountable, CSOs say
Civil society organisations also questioned whether the increased allocations were producing commensurate improvements in security.
The Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said citizens had a right to demand accountability for security expenditure.
“No matter what you spend on security, no matter how confidential they believe it is, we are not satisfied,” he said.
Adeniran questioned whether security personnel were receiving adequate welfare and equipment despite the substantial sums being allocated by governments.
He said persistent complaints from soldiers and other security personnel about poor welfare and inadequate equipment raised questions about how security funds were being utilised.
Similarly, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, called for a detailed account of how the reported expenditure was used.
“Where is the money? Who has taken the money? What procurements were made with these monies? Which equipment did they buy?” he asked.
Rafsanjani said Nigerians should be able to see tangible improvements in security if the funds had been properly deployed.
He also noted that the N252.26 billion did not include all possible security expenditure, including security votes controlled by governors and local governments, meaning actual public spending on security could be considerably higher.
He warned against using security spending as a channel for diverting public funds and called for stronger oversight.
“Government officials must not use security as a means to siphon money. They cannot use the lives and properties of Nigerians as a means to make more money for personal aggrandisement,” he said.
Rafsanjani urged the Auditor-General and the National Assembly to provide greater scrutiny of security-related expenditure, including procurements and projects funded from the allocations.
Spending does not always mirror insecurity levels
The data also suggests that the level of security spending does not necessarily correspond directly with the severity of insecurity in individual states.
Zamfara, Borno, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi, which have experienced persistent banditry and insurgency, collectively recorded about N56.04 billion in the dataset.
Kogi, however, recorded N34.67 billion on its own, exceeding the combined expenditure of several states facing significant security challenges.
Retired Brigadier-General George Emdin said the figures should also be viewed in the context of the longstanding use of security votes by governments.
He argued that insecurity in Nigeria was multidimensional and could not be addressed through a single strategy.
“Security in Nigeria is multidimensional. You cannot use one tactic or strategy to defeat everyone,” he said.
Emdin added that eliminating insecurity would take time because tackling one threat could expose or shift attention to another.
The latest expenditure figures therefore highlight a significant expansion of state-level financing for security, but also underscore the continuing debate over transparency, accountability and effectiveness.
As governments increase allocations to equipment, personnel and security operations, security experts and civil society groups say the ultimate measure should be whether the spending produces safer communities, reduces crime and improves the protection of lives and property.
