RipplesMetrics: Nigeria’s security budget keeps climbing as killings persist

Fresh waves of deadly attacks across Nigeria, from assaults on rural communities to targeted killings of security personnel, have once again pushed insecurity to the top of the national conversation. Even as the country records one of its most sustained increases in security spending in years, violence remains stubbornly widespread, raising questions about how effectively growing budgets are translating into safety on the ground.

Budget data for 2024 and 2025, alongside the federal government’s proposed allocations for 2026, show a steady expansion of funding to Nigeria’s core security and defence institutions. Between the Army, Police, and paramilitary agencies, security spending has grown into one of the largest components of public expenditure.

Army takes the lion’s share

At the centre of Nigeria’s security architecture the Nigerian Army, which continues to command the single largest allocation, in 2024, received ₦789.81 billion. That figure nearly doubled in 2025 to ₦1.49 trillion, and under the 2026 proposal, it is set to rise again to ₦1.50 trillion.

This trajectory reflects the Army’s central role in counter-insurgency operations in the North East, anti-banditry campaigns in the North West, and internal security deployments across multiple regions. However, the persistence of attacks, including deadly ambushes and raids on civilian communities, suggests that higher spending alone has yet to decisively shift security outcomes.

Police funding edges upward

The Ministry of Police Affairs, which oversees the Nigeria Police Force, remains the second-largest recipient of security funding. Its allocation stood at ₦969.65 billion in 2024 before rising sharply to ₦1.31 trillion in 2025. The proposed 2026 budget pushes this further to ₦1.33 trillion.

This steady increase comes amid rising public concern over violent crime, kidnappings, and the overstretching of police resources. While the police budget has grown by over ₦360 billion between 2024 and the proposed 2026 figure, insecurity linked to communal clashes and criminal networks continues to claim lives across several states.

Navy and Air Force see consistent growth
Spending on the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Air Force has also trended upward, though at a more moderate pace. The Navy’s budget increased from ₦211.16 billion in 2024 to ₦442.52 billion in 2025, with a marginal rise to ₦443.92 billion proposed for 2026.

The Air Force, crucial to aerial surveillance and strike operations against armed groups, saw its allocation grow from ₦203.63 billion in 2024 to ₦376.78 billion in 2025. For 2026, the government has proposed ₦407.15 billion.

Paramilitary and coordination agencies

Other security institutions show a similar pattern of incremental growth. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) received ₦150.78 billion in 2024, rising to ₦240.91 billion in 2025 and a proposed ₦244.26 billion in 2026. The Corps plays a growing role in protecting critical infrastructure and supporting internal security operations.

Funding for Defence Headquarters, responsible for coordination across the armed forces, rose from ₦146.13 billion in 2024 to ₦257.06 billion in 2025, with the 2026 proposal maintaining roughly the same level at ₦257.01 billion.

In contrast, allocations to the Ministry of Defence headquarters have moved in the opposite direction. From ₦68.51 billion in 2024, funding dropped to ₦50.98 billion in 2025 and is proposed to fall further to ₦41.24 billion in 2026, even as operational spending within the armed services continues to expand.

Taken together, the data shows a clear trend, Nigeria is spending more each year on security. Major institutions now receive trillions of naira collectively, reflecting the scale of the security challenge confronting the country.

Yet the persistence of deadly attacks underscores a widening gap between expenditure and outcomes. As communities continue to bury victims of violence, the expanding security budget has become both a statement of intent and a test of effectiveness, one that Nigerians will continue to judge not by figures on paper, but by whether the killings finally begin to decline.

By: James Odunayo

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