As President Bola Tinubu’s 2025 “Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity” unfolds, a new analysis by BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation tracking government spending, has raised deeper concerns about Nigeria’s worsening insecurity despite record-level allocations to the security sector.
BudgIT revealed that the federal government earmarked N6.57 trillion—representing 12.54 per cent of total 2025 expenditure—for defence, policing, and national security operations.
Its review further showed that state and local governments collectively received N5.9 trillion and N3.8 trillion, respectively, in FAAC disbursements between January and September 2025.
Despite these unprecedented cash injections, BudgIT’s analysis shows that the security situation has deteriorated sharply nationwide.
Citing figures from Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited (BSIL), the group noted that 6,800 Nigerians were killed and 5,402 abducted in the first half of 2025 alone.
This marks a 13.7 per cent increase in deaths compared to the second half of 2024 and a 19.1 per cent rise over the same period in 2024.
BudgIT’s breakdown highlighted June 2025 as one of the deadliest months, with 1,111 fatalities, including 804 civilians, representing about 72 per cent of those killed. The month also recorded 276 abductions.
The organisation also referenced Amnesty International’s findings showing that at least 10,217 people have been killed since the current administration took office in May 2023.
Benue (6,896 deaths) and Plateau (2,630 deaths) top the list of states bearing the heaviest toll.
Despite the billions spent, BudgIT observed that the government has not published any comprehensive, accessible report detailing how the N6.57 trillion security allocation has been utilised.
This opacity, the group warned, raises red flags about accountability at both federal and state levels.
“Opaque security votes, untracked FAAC trillions, and zero public reporting are fueling distrust,” a civil society activist told Platform Times. “Peace cannot be restored through slogans while citizens continue to die.”
BudgIT therefore urged lawmakers to intensify oversight of security spending, including the controversial security votes controlled by governors—funds which are neither audited nor transparent.
Beyond expenditure, the humanitarian fallout from armed conflict continues to worsen. WANEP Nigeria’s bi-weekly monitoring showed that in March 2025 alone, 179 people were killed, 115 injured, and 217 kidnapped. Nextier’s conflict database also recorded 43 banditry incidents in the first two months of 2025, causing 138 casualties.
The country’s military has not been spared. Over 100 personnel and more than 200 civilians were killed between November 2024 and April 2025 in renewed attacks by Boko Haram and allied armed groups.
Amnesty International has repeatedly warned that the government’s failure to protect its citizens risks triggering a humanitarian catastrophe across several northern states.
Across the country, citizens are now demanding accountability.
“This is our budget. We demand receipts from our reps, governors, and LGA chairmen,” a participant said during a town-hall meeting in Abuja organised by a civil society coalition, echoing BudgIT’s #AskQuestions advocacy.
In Zaria, an activist insisted: “Fund community-based early-warning systems with proper tracking. We need to see where the money goes.”
A community leader in Zamfara added: “Governors keep promising security, but the bandits keep coming. The war is here with us.”
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