The Federal Government expended no fewer than N74.96bn on arms, ammunition and military equipment between 2023 and 2025, amid persistent security challenges across the country.

Data obtained from GovSpend, a civic technology platform that tracks public expenditure, showed that defence-related spending rose sharply in 2024 before declining significantly in 2025.

A breakdown indicated that N33.30bn was spent in 2023, while the figure increased by about 22.6 per cent to N40.84bn in 2024. However, spending dropped drastically to N819.46m in 2025, based on available records.

The Ministry of Defence accounted for a substantial portion of the expenditure within the period under review. In 2023, the ministry recorded major payments, including N9.17bn and N6.89bn for ammunition procurement in November alone, alongside additional statutory deductions exceeding N102m.

The Nigerian Army also made notable purchases during the year, spending N4.41bn on ammunition, N2.88bn on arms and N2.77bn on a surveillance attack aircraft in June. Similarly, the Nigerian Navy expended N1bn in August and N5bn in December on arms and ammunition.

Other security agencies were involved in procurement activities. Defence Headquarters recorded N744.19m for military equipment, while the Nigeria Correctional Service spent N144.35m on arms and protective gear. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and National Park Headquarters also made smaller purchases.

Spending surged significantly in 2024, driven largely by bulk procurement by the Ministry of Defence. On July 26, 2024, the ministry made five separate payments totalling N33.22bn for what it described as critical operational equipment for the military. This accounted for more than 80 per cent of the year’s total defence-related spending.

Additional transactions included N990.89m for ammunition in April, N941.94m for armoured vehicles and ammunition, and N1.37bn as retention payments in December.

Other agencies also increased procurement efforts. The Nigeria Immigration Service recorded multiple payments for firearms and ammunition, while the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency spent N1.94bn on arms, ammunition and anti-riot equipment in December 2024. Police formations also invested in firearms tracking systems and training.

In contrast, the 2025 data reflected limited spending activity, with only the NDLEA recording transactions. The agency spent N245.84m as mobilisation for arms procurement in September and N573.62m as final payment in December.

The spending pattern highlighted the dominance of the Ministry of Defence in arms procurement, particularly in 2024 when large-scale acquisitions were concentrated within a short period.

However, analysts noted that the figures covered only transactions explicitly classified under arms and military equipment, suggesting that total security spending by the government could be significantly higher.

Meanwhile, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute indicated that Africa accounted for just 4.5 per cent of global arms imports in 2024 and 2025, compared to Europe’s 48.2 per cent share.

Security experts warned that the disparity could undermine the capacity of African countries, including Nigeria, to effectively tackle threats such as terrorism, insurgency and transnational crimes.

The Federal Government has also earmarked over N13.12bn for arms and related equipment in the 2026 appropriation, signalling continued investment in the security sector.

Punch