The storied history of the security sector

In the last 10 years, Nigeria has reportedly spent ₦6trn on security without making much headway. In
fact, the latest figures from the global terrorism Index (2019) ranked Nigeria as the third-worst country
exposed to terrorism with no improvement recorded since 2017.

Further, among countries with similar security challenges, Nigeria’s death toll from terrorism increased.
Save Afghanistan, the total number of deaths in Iraq, Somalia, and Syria fell.

THE Federal Government has proposed N1. 9 trillion for 11 security agencies and the Ministries of
Defence and Interior headquarters in 2024. The amount represents 6.93 per cent of the proposed
budget of N27. 5 trillion the government plans to spend within the year
2023(https://www.icirnigeria.org/defence-interior-ministries-11-security-agencies-get-6-93-of-
proposed-2024-budget/)

Insecurity has been a perennial challenge in Nigeria, ranging from attacks by bandits and secessionist
groups to attacks by insurgent groups like Boko Haram/Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and
clashes between herders and villagers, among others.

Data collated by The ICIR show that between January and October 2023, 7,046 people were killed in
violent attacks across Nigeria.

The ICIR gathered the data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a data
bureau that collects real-time data on the locations, dates, actors, fatalities, and types of all reported
political violence and protest events worldwide.

When broken down, this means that an average of 24 persons were killed daily within the month under
review.

According to the data, the states with the highest killings within the ten months are Zamfara (672
deaths), Niger (544 deaths), Benue (454 deaths) and Plateau (362 deaths).

The states with the lowest reported cases of death are Ekiti, Gombe, and Jigawa, with five, three, and
two deaths, respectively.
The ICIR reported that the presidency planned to spend about N11.1 billion on computer software
acquisition in 2024, as shown in the budget proposal.

The ICIR reports that the budget proposal for this item is a sharp rise from the N926.1 million approved
by the National Assembly for the same purpose for the presidency in the 2023 budget.