No fewer than 31 Nigerian state governments spent an estimated N252.26 billion on security-related activities in the first six months of 2026, amid persistent killings, kidnappings, banditry and other security threats across the country.
An analysis of state fiscal performance reports from January to June 2026, obtained from Open Nigerian States, a BudgIT-backed repository of government budget data, showed that Kogi, Plateau and Bauchi recorded the highest security-related expenditure.
Kogi State topped the list with N34.67 billion, representing 13.74 percent of the total expenditure captured, followed by Plateau with N23.69 billion and Bauchi with N22.35 billion.
The spending covered areas including security equipment, homeland security personnel, security votes and operations, ministries of security and special advisers, as well as security trust funds.
Combined spending across the states covered increased from N75.84 billion in 2025 to N252.26 billion in 2026, although the comparison is not a like-for-like 36-state comparison because fewer states had comparable 2025 data.
Security votes and related homeland security expenditure recorded the largest increase, rising from N47.67 billion to N135.61 billion, while spending under ministries of security and special advisers climbed from N14.95 billion to N42.15 billion.
Despite the huge expenditure, insecurity remains a major concern, with incidents of kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, communal violence and killings continuing across several parts of the country.
The National Human Rights Commission reportedly documented 651 kidnapping incidents and 492 killings between January and March 2026, while a separate security report recorded hundreds of deaths in security-related incidents in June.
