A former Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro (retd.), on Tuesday accused the Federal Government of weakening the Nigeria Police Force by deliberately failing to adequately equip it, arguing that the development has contributed to the country’s worsening insecurity.Okiro made the assertion while speaking at the First Daily National Dialogue on Security held in Abuja.Describing the police as the lead agency for internal security, the former police chief said the government’s failure to properly arm and support the force had undermined its capacity to effectively tackle crime.“The government, I would say, is contributing to insecurity itself.“The police is the lead agency for internal security. But the government deliberately, I say deliberately, without any fear of contradiction, disarmed the police. The result is insecurity,” he said.He lamented that the police had been left to confront increasingly sophisticated criminal groups without the equipment needed to perform their constitutional duties.“We have passed the stage of a policeman walking on the street with a baton. No more batons.“The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. Okiro made the assertion while speaking at the First Daily National Dialogue on Security held in Abuja.Describing the police as the lead agency for internal security, the former police chief said the government’s failure to properly arm and support the force had undermined its capacity to effectively tackle crime.“The government, I would say, is contributing to insecurity itself.“The police is the lead agency for internal security. But the government deliberately, I say deliberately, without any fear of contradiction, disarmed the police. The result is insecurity,” he said.He lamented that the police had been left to confront increasingly sophisticated criminal groups without the equipment needed to perform their constitutional duties.“We have passed the stage of a policeman walking on the street with a baton. No more batons.“The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. Describing the police as the lead agency for internal security, the former police chief said the government’s failure to properly arm and support the force had undermined its capacity to effectively tackle crime.“The government, I would say, is contributing to insecurity itself.“The police is the lead agency for internal security. But the government deliberately, I say deliberately, without any fear of contradiction, disarmed the police. The result is insecurity,” he said.He lamented that the police had been left to confront increasingly sophisticated criminal groups without the equipment needed to perform their constitutional duties.“We have passed the stage of a policeman walking on the street with a baton. No more batons.“The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “The government, I would say, is contributing to insecurity itself.“The police is the lead agency for internal security. But the government deliberately, I say deliberately, without any fear of contradiction, disarmed the police. The result is insecurity,” he said.He lamented that the police had been left to confront increasingly sophisticated criminal groups without the equipment needed to perform their constitutional duties.“We have passed the stage of a policeman walking on the street with a baton. No more batons.“The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “The police is the lead agency for internal security. But the government deliberately, I say deliberately, without any fear of contradiction, disarmed the police. The result is insecurity,” he said.He lamented that the police had been left to confront increasingly sophisticated criminal groups without the equipment needed to perform their constitutional duties.“We have passed the stage of a policeman walking on the street with a baton. No more batons.“The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. He lamented that the police had been left to confront increasingly sophisticated criminal groups without the equipment needed to perform their constitutional duties.“We have passed the stage of a policeman walking on the street with a baton. No more batons.“The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “We have passed the stage of a policeman walking on the street with a baton. No more batons.“The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “The government should equip security agencies because they need equipment. They need communication gadgets, armoured vehicles and other operational tools,” he said.Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. Okiro also blamed the shortage of police personnel on years of failure to recruit replacements for officers leaving the service.Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. Recalling his tenure as Chairman of the Police Service Commission in 2013, he said the commission discovered that there had been no recruitment into the force for five years despite significant losses through retirement, death and other causes.“We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “We found that for five years there was no recruitment into the police. The police lost 59,730 personnel to retirements, deaths and other causes without replacement.Related News2025 WAFCON victory: FG presents houses to Super Falcons ahead of Malawi clashATBU female students protest insecurity29% of Borno school teachers may quit over stress — Report“Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “Yet, you have young men and women, graduates and degree holders, who are citizens of Nigeria without jobs,” he said.The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. The former police chief further criticised the lack of coordination among security agencies, saying intelligence sharing was often slowed by bureaucratic procedures.“When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “When I was Inspector-General, I wrote a memo to the National Security Adviser that agencies should work together. If the DSS director in Mubi gets information, he should discuss it immediately with the Divisional Police Officer instead of sending reports through Abuja before action is taken.“Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “Two or three days would have gone by. Will the criminals wait? They won’t,” he added.Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. Also speaking at the dialogue, former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), raised concerns over Nigeria’s defence spending pattern, saying more than three-quarters of the country’s defence budget is spent on personnel costs, leaving inadequate funding for military equipment, maintenance and modernisation.He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. He said the current pattern of budgetary releases to the armed forces reflected misplaced priorities despite the worsening security situation across the country.Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. Irabor said, “Furthermore, over three-quarters of Nigeria’s total defence budget is consumed by personnel cost alone. Take note of that, leaving an extremely narrow margin for procurement, maintenance and modernization.“Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. “Nigeria’s total military expenditure remains below one percent of our Gross Domestic Product. For a country facing a security emergency and desirous of a quantum leap in development, that figure requires our attention.”The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. The retired general said figures from the Open Treasury Portal of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation showed that capital releases for military operations remained significantly below approved allocations.According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released. According to him, the Nigerian Army received an approved equipment budget of ₦20.56bn for 2025, but only 7.1 per cent, amounting to ₦1.46bn, had been released.