Security Budget 2024: Kano, Katsina outspend others in Northwest, Jigawa trails
By Aminu Abubakar
A SolaceBase investigation into the 2024 budget performance documents of five northwestern Nigerian states—Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, and Jigawa—has revealed that a combined total of N19.54 billion was spent on security votes, a controversial but widely adopted fiscal provision for tackling internal threats.
A data review shows that Kano leads with N7.7 billion in security vote expenditure, Katsina N5.9 billion, and Jigawa State spent the least, N649 million.
According to the budget data:
– Kano State led the group with an expenditure of N7.7 billion
– Katsina State followed with N5.9 billion
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– Zamfara State allocated N3.5 billion
– Kaduna State spent N1.8 billion
– Jigawa State disbursed N640 million
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Security votes are monthly allocations given to governors for the purpose of handling security-related matters within their jurisdictions.
These funds are unique in that they are not subject to public auditing or transparency regulations, allowing governors broad discretion over how they are utilized. Critics have long referred to these funds as slush funds due to their lack of accountability.
A Controversial Approach to Security Funding
Despite the substantial resources allocated, insecurity has continued to spiral across the northwestern region. Analysts have repeatedly pointed out that there is little correlation between the size of a state’s security vote and improvements in safety and public confidence.
In many cases, budget performance reports suggest that while security votes are being fully utilised or even overspent, official security agencies and ministries receive far less funding than proposed, and often much less than required.
For instance, in Zamfara State, a known epicentre of bandit activity, the Ministry of Internal Security was allocated N13.1 billion in the 2024 budget. However, only N800 million was approved, and of that amount, just N30 million was spent on capital projects intended to strengthen security infrastructure.
“This disconnect between what is budgeted and what is actually spent, especially on core security agencies, undermines any serious effort to combat insecurity,” said a policy analyst based in Kaduna.
Ongoing Bandit Attacks Undermine Public Confidence
Insecurity remains a daily reality for residents of the region, despite the billions expended.
In January 2025, at least 22 villagers were abducted in separate attacks across several communities in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The incidents occurred in Kugauta, Kusheka, and Kitanda communities, all under the Kumana Chiefdom, highlighting the expanding reach of bandit groups.
Only a few months prior, in September 2024, bandits launched a brutal attack on a church service in the Bakinpah-Maro community, Kajuru LGA.
The gunmen struck around 10 a.m. during simultaneous worship sessions at ECWA and Catholic churches, killing at least three people and kidnapping numerous others.
In March 2024, ten security personnel were killed in an ambush in Anka LGA, Zamfara State. The victims included six members of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards—locally known as Askarawa—and four local vigilantes.
The violence has had devastating effects on the region’s social and economic fabric. Zamfara alone has lost 6,803 lives to armed violence and insurgency between 2011 and 2023, according to data from Statista. Thousands more have been displaced, and farming communities have been abandoned due to persistent threats.
Calls for Reform and Transparency
The recurring wave of violence and poor accountability in the use of security votes have reignited calls for a comprehensive reform of how internal security is funded and managed at the state level.
Civil society groups, anti-corruption watchdogs, and human rights advocates have urged the National Assembly to legislate oversight mechanisms for security vote disbursements. Others argue that states should be compelled to publish detailed spending breakdowns and outcomes tied to security funding.
They argue over time that security cannot be achieved through shadow budgeting, noting that transparency, coordination with federal agencies, and investment in long-term security infrastructure must replace short-term, unaccounted-for expenditures.
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