Written by Muhammad Hassan-Tom
Startling statistics from the federal government’s Open Treasury Portal indicate that as of April 2026, only seven percent of the security equipment funds for the Nigerian Army in the 2025 budget were ever released easily explains why national security is now a shadow of itself.
The situation has deteriorated to the point that officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces cannot now even defend themselves from ragtag bandits and illiterate insurgents. Forget their feats in Burma, in Congo, in Liberia, in Sierra Leone, in Somalia and elsewhere.
How many more deaths and how much more destruction does the nation have to go through before its leaders prioritise security? The killing of Brigadier-General Oseni O. Braimah, commander of the 29 Task Force Brigade, by Boko Haram terrorists at Benisheikh, Borno State, on April 9 2026, was not just another avoidable tragedy but is so symptomatic of the shocking sludge in the security sector. It is a stark signal that the territorial integrity of the nation is on the brink, and not on account of a lack of resources.
In his last hours, General Braimah apparently attempted to operate the single MRAP vehicle on the base, but it could not start. Of course, it was earlier reported to be faulty, yet he had no option but to hope against certainty. Even as the terrorists cut him down in a barrage of bullets, he could be hoping that the Air Component of their Operation Hadin Kai based at the Maiduguri International Airport, 70 kilometres away, could come to rescue his remaining men. Yes, they were alerted about the attack in good time, but they did not have a single drop of jet fuel!
The rest of the story is similarly saddening to showcase. About a score of soldiers were killed. Military and civilian vehicles were burnt to ashes. Arms, ammunition, other fighting equipment and foodstuff fully looted. This is like nourishing the monster by default; empowering it for the next assault. Three weeks on now, and the Nigerian Armed Forces have been incapacitated to the point that they have not apprehended these murderous marauders.
In a matter of five months, more than 40 officers and over 300 soldiers have been killed by the terrorists. Even Biafran secessionists backed by France and Israel in the 1967-1970 Civil War did not inflict such losses. This level of vulnerability has not been seen since the inception of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is a rate of attrition guaranteed to deplete the entire manpower of the defence services in a matter of months.
Just before General Braimah, Brigadier-General Musa Samaila Uba, Commander 25 Task Force Brigade was killed on November 14, 2025; Brigadier-General Dzarma Zirkusu, Commander 28 Task Force Brigade on 13th November 2021; Lt. Col. Aliyu Saidu Paiko, Commanding Officer 202 Tank Battalion on !7th October 2025; Lt. Col. Mohammed, Commander 272 Tank Battalion in January 2026; Lt. Col. S.I. Iliyasu, Commanding Officer 222 Battalion on March 9th 2026; Lt. Col. Umar Farouq, Commanding Officer Kukawa on March 9th 2026 and Lt. Col. Muhammad Abu Ali, Commander 272 Tank Battalion on 4th November 2016.
According to the Federal Government’s Open Treasury Portal, managed by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, of the N20.56 billion budgeted for the purchase of security equipment, only N1.46 billion, representing 7.1 percent, was disbursed as at 31st December 2025. Also, only N5.76 billion and N3.89 billion were released for the construction/provision of defence equipment and repairs of defence equipment budgeted at N57.59 billion and N22.60 billion, respectively, representing a budget performance of 10 per cent and 9.07 per cent, respectively. Other critical areas that received low allocation include local training (10.78%), international training (6.71%) and motor-vehicle fuel costs (7.45%). No amount was released for transport equipment fuel cost, with a budget of N21.02 billion, aircraft fuel cost budgeted at N12.81 billion or the construction/provision of military barracks worth N206.97 billion.
Records on the Open Treasury Portal further revealed that only N4.85 billion or 13.98 per cent of the N34.71 billion budgeted for the maintenance of aircraft was released as at 31st December 2025. Aircraft fuel cost received a total disbursement of N2.23 billion or 5.07 per cent of the budgeted N43.91 billion. In contrast, N20.27 billion was released for the running of the presidential air fleet out of the N20.74 billion budgeted, marking 97.76 per cent implementation.
The total allocation for the Defence sector in the 2025 budget was N3.1 trillion or over $2 billion. This excludes allocations for the police, immigration, civil defence, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and service-wide votes. Components include personnel cost, capital expenditure and overhead costs.
Here is where it gets gloomiest. Of the N4.52 trillion total expenditures proposed for the Nigerian Army for 2025, only N1.17 trillion or 25.94 per cent was disbursed as of the end of the year. For the Nigerian Air Force, only N238.32 billion of its N1.25 trillion total budget was released, representing 19.04 per cent performance. In contrast, the Tinubu administration fully paid up for a brand new airplane, yatch and brand new SUVs for the presidency, 469 members of the national assembly and the Judiciary. This, for a country that has been at war on multiple fronts for years, suggests serious irresponsibility.
President Bola Tinubu and members of the 10th National Assembly must shape up or get shoved aside in the 2027 general elections. Inane declarations and post-dated promises cannot save the dismal security situation. For instance, while signing the 2026 Appropriation bill into law last week, Tinubu avowed an extension of the implementation of the 2025 budget to June 31, 2026, a date that does not even exist. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s debts soared to N159.28 trillion, not counting the fresh $6 billion dollars loan recently approved by the Senate.
Similarly, the best excuse that Senate President Godswill Akpabio could offer for the worsening insecurity is that it is linked to the upcoming polls, and Nigerians should expect a break from the violence only after the elections. This tattered, if not treacherous, train of thought has been used by successive governments since the advent of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009.
Senator Muhammad Ali Ndume, who chairs the senate committee on the Nigerian Army, has even more questions to answer. The latest large-scale terrorist attack saw the sacking of Ngoshe in his Borno South Senatorial District. To date, over 400 residents kidnapped by the terrorists are at large. The total number of the dead and injured in the incident is still being collated. From January 1 to December 31st 2025, over 10,000 Nigerians were killed, at least 404 of them in November alone. Thousands of others were kidnapped, and hundreds of towns and villages were displaced. In the just-ended first quarter of 2026, over 2,350 Nigerians have been killed, and 1,117 have been reported abducted. On March 17th, 25 people were killed in simultaneous bomb blasts at the gate of UMTH, Monday Market Roundabout and Post Office areas of Maiduguri.
How shoddier in its oversight function could a committee be in the monitoring of disbursements to the security sector? Insurgency can only be brought to an end when the Nigerian army is well-trained, well-equipped, well-armed and well-motivated. Over N20 trillion has been budgeted for defence and security between 2016 and 2025 alone. Last year, N4.9 trillion was budgeted as compared to N1.04 trillion in 2016. The 2026 budget for the sector is N5.041 trillion.
Why are these humongous funds not translating into better results? Is it corruption, sabotage, betrayal or sell-out? Where is the military hardware, technological equipment, infrastructure and personnel welfare? How about the provision of attack helicopters in most of the black spots; MRAPs, gun-trucks, drones or adequate arms and ammunition for the officers and men on the battlefields? When you do not release funds budgeted for operations, how do you expect performance?
Both the executive and legislative arms of the government have a chance to redeem the situation. For 2026, the budget for the Nigerian Army is N1.504 trillion. The allocation focuses on fighting insurgency and banditry with a strong emphasis on personnel, operational and capital expenditure to enhance security, modernise equipment, strengthen surveillance and boost troop welfare. At this point, recruitment and training of additional personnel is a sine qua non for victory.
Political interference in the procurement process by family and friends of office holders must stop instantly. The war economy cannot be a continuous conduit for siphoning public resources, as are the so-called security votes that are officially unaccounted for. Prioritising security, providing strong leadership and accounting for all budgeted resources could conjure the context and clarity needed to eradicate the existential threat to national security.