Senators want a review of defence spending as insecurity grows

Some senators have asked the Presidency and the National Assembly to review Nigeria’s defence spending. They want to find out if the money given to security agencies has been used properly.

This request was made on Wednesday by Adams Oshiomhole, the senator for Edo North, and Sani Musa, the senator for Niger East. They spoke during a debate about the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Oshiomhole, who is a former governor of Edo State, expressed disappointment that the Senate has talked about insecurity many times. He said they have passed several resolutions to tackle the issue but have not checked if those resolutions have been followed or have made any difference.

He questioned why new resolutions are still being passed when the old ones have not shown any real results. "What I want to say this afternoon with profound respect is that it doesn’t appear to me that we have carried out an audit. By this I mean to refer to each of those resolutions that we have passed in the past, to ask ourselves as a consequence what specific actions have been taken based on those resolutions."

Oshiomhole, who leads the Senate Committee on Interior, referred to a Senate resolution from last year regarding the kidnapping of schoolchildren in Kebbi State. He mentioned that the Senate had asked the military to reveal the name of the officer who ordered the removal of security personnel from the school just before the attack.

He noted that the military has not responded to this request, and the lawmakers have not followed up on it. "We were shocked about the kidnapping that took place in Kebbi, and it was reported that the governor of Kebbi State cried aloud that military personnel who were in that particular school were ordered to be withdrawn. And about 40 minutes later, the kidnappers came and carted away about 200, I can’t remember exactly the number of children."

Oshiomhole added, "This Senate under your leadership, we passed a resolution that the military high command should disclose the name of that officer, the action that had been taken against him to satisfy us that that action was not willful, or that people who are entrusted to protect us, that some of them have not become part of our problem."

He insisted that the legislature must carry out a proper audit of security spending and better monitor how defence funds are used. "If the armed forces are not accountable, if we do not carry out due audit and oversight of resources that we have all been blackmailed to appropriate to protect Nigeria, and we come here lamenting that it is now taking over the country, I think we need to do more than that."

He continued, "We need to carry out a security audit, money appropriated, who got what, and how it was used. And, I still insist that this Senate is entitled to have a reply to the question we unanimously asked, who withdrew those people for the children to be carted away."

Unlike bills, motions passed by the legislature do not have legal power. Security and defence have received the largest share of the federal budget under President Tinubu’s administration. In the 2024 budget, security was a key spending area. This continued in 2025 and 2026, with the president proposing ₦5.41 trillion for defence and security in the 2026 budget. This was the highest budget area and the third year in a row that security has been the top priority.

The government says the increase in defence spending is needed to fight terrorism in the North-east, banditry in the North-west, kidnappings across states, farmer-herder conflicts in the North-central region, oil theft in the Niger Delta, and violent crime in parts of the South-east and South-west.

Despite the large amounts spent, insecurity remains a major problem in Nigeria. A recent report by SBM Intelligence recorded 4,722 abductions and at least 997 kidnappings across the country from July 2024 to June 2025. During that time, victims reportedly paid about ₦2.57 billion in ransom to kidnappers.

School kidnappings have not stopped despite repeated government promises. Over 1,500 students have been taken in mass school attacks across Nigeria in the last decade, while bandit groups still operate in the North-west and North-central regions.

Nigeria is now ranked among the least secure countries globally, even with record defence budgets in recent years. The Global Peace Index 2025 ranked Nigeria 148th out of 163 countries for peace. Likewise, the Global Terrorism Index 2025 placed Nigeria sixth among countries most affected by terrorism. This shows that insecurity continues to be a problem despite huge spending on defence and security since Tinubu became president.

Security experts have said that just increasing the budget might not solve the security crisis without better oversight, transparency, intelligence gathering, procurement reforms, and accountability.

Sani Musa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, also spoke. He urged President Bola Tinubu to hold security chiefs responsible for how funds meant for military equipment and operations are used. He compared it to the United States, where defence officials are questioned about spending.

"If the US Secretary of Defence can be called to be scrutinised publicly on the expenditures, spending and operational mechanisms of the armed forces, especially in the area of expenditure and budgeting. I think it is high time now that Mr President, in his wisdom, called the service chiefs to account for the resources that this National Assembly has been budgeting for."

Musa also raised concerns about the source of wealth driving Nigeria’s booming real estate sector, suggesting more scrutiny of public spending is needed. "Today, go and check the economy. Go and check how the economy plays. Today, if you look at the indices that contribute to the growth of our GDP, and areas where these expenditures are going, you will see that real estate is playing a role in this country."

He added, "We are here in the National Assembly, every day, saying we want to appeal to Mr President to look at domestic debts. I think it is the government’s responsibility upon us, as legislators, to do our oversight without fear or favour. We need to do it."

Musa continued, "We have been allocating resources. At one time, three of our budgets, defence was carrying the highest. And yet, every day, it is either that we don’t have the arms, or the money is not there to give allowances to our servicemen. Where is the money going to? Not until we do this scrutiny will we be able to get it right. Because security goes hand in hand with the expenditure. If we want security, we have to spend money. So, are we spending money to get security? That is the question we need to ask ourselves."

The Senate, however, turned down Oshiomhole and Musa’s request to audit the country’s defence spending.