Senators want a review of defence spending as insecurity increases

Some senators are asking the Presidency and the National Assembly to check how Nigeria’s defence money has been spent. They want to see if the funds given to security agencies have been used properly.

This request came on Wednesday from Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, and Senator Sani Musa from Niger East. They spoke during a discussion about the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, said the Senate has talked many times about insecurity. They have passed several resolutions to tackle the problem, but they have not followed up to see what has been done.

He questioned why new resolutions are passed when old ones have not had much effect. "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 asked, "If past resolutions did not change anything, why should we believe that today’s own will be different? And if today’s own will not be different, why should we waste our precious time on it?"

He is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and mentioned a resolution from last year about the kidnapping of schoolchildren in Kebbi State. He said the Senate ordered the military to name the officer who ordered the withdrawal of security personnel from the school before the attack.

He pointed out that the military has not replied to this request, and lawmakers did not follow 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the governor of Kebbi State cried aloud that military personnel who were in that particular school were ordered to be withdrawn.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."

He continued, "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. Mr President, I have always tried to be present every day that this Senate sits. As I speak, I am not aware that we have gotten a response to that simple inquiry."

Oshiomhole emphasized that the legislature needs to properly audit security budgets and improve oversight of defence spending. "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. We need to carry out a security audit, money appropriated, who got what, and how it was used."

He insisted that the Senate deserves answers to the questions they asked, including who withdrew the security personnel. "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. I believe that any time we pass a motion, we are entitled to note the feedback arising from the response that the motion is directed to."

Unlike bills, motions passed by the legislature do not have the force of law. Security and defence have consistently received the largest share of the federal budget under President Bola Tinubu.

In the 2024 budget, security was highlighted as a key area for spending. This trend continued in 2025 and 2026, with the president proposing ₦5.41 trillion for defence and security in the 2026 budget. This was the biggest allocation for the sector and the third year in a row that security topped federal spending priorities.

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

Even with this huge spending, insecurity still poses one of Nigeria’s biggest challenges. A recent report by SBM Intelligence noted 4,722 abductions and at least 997 kidnapping incidents across the country from July 2024 to June 2025. During this same period, victims reportedly paid around ₦2.57 billion in ransom to kidnappers.

School kidnappings have continued despite government promises. More than 1,500 students have been kidnapped in mass school attacks in Nigeria over the last decade, while bandit groups still operate in parts of the North-west and North-central regions.

Nigeria ranks among the least safe countries in the world despite record defence spending in recent years. The Global Peace Index 2025 ranked Nigeria 148th out of 163 countries as one of the least peaceful countries globally.

The Global Terrorism Index 2025 also placed Nigeria sixth among countries most affected by terrorism. These rankings show the ongoing insecurity, including terrorism in the North-east, banditry in the North-west, mass kidnappings, farmer-herder clashes, and communal violence, despite trillions of naira allocated to defence and security since President Tinubu took office.

Security experts have said that just increasing the budget might not solve the security crisis. They say stronger oversight, transparency, intelligence gathering, better procurement, and accountability are also needed.

Senator Musa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, also urged President Tinubu to make security chiefs accountable for the funds allocated for military equipment and operations. He compared this to the United States, saying defence officials should be examined on how public funds are spent.

"If the US Secretary of Defence can be called to be scrutinized 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. Because if this is not done, the issue of overcoming this issue of security is going to be child’s play," he said.

Musa also raised concerns about the source of wealth in Nigeria’s booming real estate sector. He suggested that the government should look closely at public spending. "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. Who are the owners of these real estates? How do the resources come?"

Musa stressed the need for better oversight. "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. 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?"

He concluded, "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."

Despite Oshiomhole and Musa’s requests, the Senate did not agree to audit the country’s defence spending.