Terrorism: Northern governors get N56bn security votes

A total of N56bn has been released as security votes to the governors of 14 northern states in the first nine months of 2025, findings reveal.

The funds were released in response to the mounting killings, abductions, and other attacks on various Northern towns.

On November 21, 315 children and 13 teachers were kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.

The abduction occurred after terrorists seized 26 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, Kebbi State, on November 17.

Bandits attacked the Palaita village, Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area, Niger State, abducting 24 persons, including pregnant women, from a rice plantation.

Bandits abducted approximately 20 people in Kano and Kwara between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The development comes just 24 hours after 38 congregants kidnapped from the Christ Apostolic Church in Oke-Isegun, Eruku, Ikere, Kwara State, on November 18 were freed after the Federal Government bargained with their captors.

Ten people, including a pregnant woman, nursing moms, and toddlers, were reportedly kidnapped in the attack on Tuesday in Isapa, a few kilometers from Eruku in Kwara State.

The regular kidnapping for ransom and terror assaults have sparked widespread public indignation in recent days, prompting President Bola Tinubu to proclaim a national security emergency.

The president also directed the police and armed services to recruit an additional 20,000 personnel to combat escalating insecurity in the country.

Security votes are monthly funding granted to governors to address security emergencies, acquire intelligence, and conduct fast reaction activities.

However, there have long been popular fears in the country that the funds are routinely diverted, mismanaged, or utilized for political patronage rather than the legitimate security needs for which they are intended.

A review of the 2025 third-quarter budget performance reports published on the websites of each of the northern states revealed that about 14 of them have allocated N56 billion for security votes.

This is nearly 55% of the N101 billion that the states jointly allocated on security votes this year.

The states are Kebbi, Kwara, Taraba, Kaduna, Adamawa, Kogi, Jigawa, Borno, Gombe, Katsina, Zamfara, Yobe, Nasarawa, and Benue.

The actual security vote disbursements of the other five states in the area, Bauchi, Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, and Kano, were not published in their budget documents.

Borno State made the largest disbursement, releasing N32 billion from the N41.6 billion it allotted for security votes in the 2025 budget.

Yobe and Adamawa followed suit, releasing N5 billion and N4.5 billion from their respective budgets of N5.7 billion and N10.7 billion.

Nasarawa spent N4.39 billion, significantly more than the N4 billion it really voted for, while Katsina released N3.1 billion out of N4.4 billion and Jigawa N2.4 billion out of N2.9 billion.

Zamfara received N1.5 billion out of N8 billion; Kebbi received N1.49 billion out of N3 billion; Taraba received N55 million out of N503 million; Kaduna received N349 million out of N1.2 billion; and Kogi received N191.9 million out of N1.3 billion.

Others are Gombe (N937.8 million out of N1.6 billion), Benue (N4 million out of N15.6 billion), and Kwara (N337 million out of N350 million).

Speaking to the press, National Coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Groups, Jamilu Charanchi, expressed dismay that despite the receipt of N56bn security votes, attacks “are still escalating” across the region.

He said banditry “has become an industry where many people benefit, either directly or indirectly,” alleging that some officials “will never allow it to end because they are using it as a conduit to siphon state funds.”

Charanchi alleged that security votes had “become personal accounts for governors,” and that recent occurrences in the region demonstrated that the monies had not been used wisely to combat rising terror.

However, Ismaila Misilli, Director-General of Press Affairs to the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, rejected the notion, stating that the governors are doing their utmost to stop the flood.

Speaking in an interview, he said, “The governors are having a meeting tomorrow, the Northern Governors’ Forum meeting, and I believe some of these issues will be tabled before them.

“But I know they are doing their best in managing the security situation and deploying resources to support security agencies in combating insecurity and other criminalities in our society.”