A total of N56bn has been released as security votes to the governors by 14 northern states in the first nine months of 2025. The funds were released amid escalating killings, abductions, and other attacks on several communities in the North in recent weeks.

On November 21, a total of 315 students and 13 teachers were abducted from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.

The abduction came after the terrorists kidnapped 26 schoolgirls at the Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, on November 17.

In the latest assault, bandits struck the Palaita community, Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting 24 people, including pregnant women, from a rice farm.

About 20 persons were also abducted by bandits in Kano and Kwara between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The development comes barely 24 hours after 38 worshippers abducted from the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke-Isegun, Eruku, Ikere, Kwara State, on November 18, were released after the Federal Government negotiated with their abductors.

In the Tuesday attack, 10 persons, including a pregnant woman, nursing mothers, and children were reportedly seized in Isapa community, a few kilometres from Eruku, Kwara State.

The frequent kidnapping for ransom and terror attacks have triggered heated public outrage in the last few days, forcing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a nationwide security emergency.

The President also ordered the police and armed forces to recruit 20,000 additional personnel to tackle rising insecurity across the country.

Security votes are monthly funds allocated to governors for tackling security emergencies, intelligence gathering, and rapid-response operations.

However, there have been long-standing public concerns in the country that the funds are routinely diverted, mismanaged, or used for political patronage rather than genuine security needs they are meant for.

An analysis of the 2025 third-quarter budget performance reports published on the websites of each of the northern states showed that about 14 of them have doled out N56bn for security votes.

This is approximately 55 per cent of N101bn, which the states collectively allocated for security votes in the year.

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

Actual security vote disbursements of the other five states in the region, including Bauchi, Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, and Kano, were not disclosed in their budget documents.

Borno State made the highest disbursement, releasing N32bn out of the N41.6bn it allocated for security votes in the 2025 budget.

Yobe and Adamawa followed closely, releasing N5bn and N4.5bn respectively out of N5.7bn and N10.7bn they budgeted.

Nasarawa spent N4.39bn, much higher than N4bn it actually voted, while Katsina released N3.1bn out of N4.4bn, Jigawa N2.4bn out of N2.9bn.

Zamfara N1.5bn out of N8bn, Kebbi N1.49bn out of N3bn, Taraba N55m out of N503m, Kaduna N349m out of N1.2bn, and Kogi N191.9m out of N1.3bn.

Others are Gombe N937.8m out of N1.6bn, Benue N4m out of N15.6bn, and Kwara N337m out of N350m.

Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, 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 claimed security votes have “become personal accounts for governors,” arguing that recent developments across the region showed that the funds have not been judiciously utilised to curb the rising terror.

However, the Director-General of Press Affairs to the Chairman of Northern Governors Forum, Ismaila Misilli, dismissed the claim, noting that the governors are doing their best to stem the ugly tide.

In an interview with our correspondent, 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.”