The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has spoken against the low amount of money given to Nigeria’s security agencies every year. He said the budget they receive is not enough to help them do their job properly.
He made this known while speaking at a public event held in Abuja on Monday, June 16. The event was organised by the House of Representatives Committee in charge of reviewing the Nigerian Constitution, together with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
During the meeting, Tunji-Ojo expressed disappointment with how security is handled in Nigeria. He questioned how the country expects to solve insecurity when the funds given to the people responsible for security are so small. He said that the limited resources make it hard for security agencies to work effectively.
The minister did not hide his frustration. At one point, he asked, “Are we joking?” to show how shocked he is by the way security matters are being ignored. He believes the government needs to prove it is serious about protecting lives by backing security agencies with proper financial support.
Tunji-Ojo explained that giving more money to security agencies is not just an option—it is a must. He said the country cannot continue this way if it wants peace and safety. In his view, if the people who protect the country are not given the right tools and funds, then the country remains in danger.
He finished his remarks by calling on lawmakers and government officials to treat security with the importance it deserves. He said fixing the budget is a first step toward reducing the rising cases of violence, crime, and unrest across Nigeria.
‘’Look at the 2025 budget, how much do we have for border security? That is the truth. The whole budget for the National Immigration Service, the capital budget, is less than N10 billion or something and you want to protect 4024 sq/km of our border space. Are we joking? The more you kill one terrorist and the border is porous, twenty will come in.
The military are challenged. So for us, we need to be very realistic with ourselves. Do we want a system that works or we just want to play to the gallery.
We have some of the most brilliant people in our DSS. We have our NIA doing fantastically well. You can see the kind of leadership that the NSA is providing but the simple truth is that when we talk about security, internal security, the first thing that comes to a Nigerian’s mind is the military. That is a sign of failure of our internal security agencies.”
