The Edo State Government spent ₦14.48 billion on security votes and related services between January and September 2026 but released no capital funding to the Ministry of Public Security and Safety, raising questions about its spending priorities amid persistent kidnapping, cultism and violent attacks across the state.
Figures contained in the state’s third-quarter 2026 Budget Performance Report show that the government spent billions of naira on two security-related expenditure lines while leaving the ministry responsible for coordinating public security without funding for its budgeted capital projects.
The report showed that ₦11.31 billion was spent on security votes, including operations, during the nine-month period. The expenditure represented 66.1 per cent of the ₦17.11 billion allocated for that purpose in the 2026 budget.
An additional ₦3.17 billion was spent on security services from a separate allocation of ₦4.05 billion, representing budget performance of 78.3 per cent.
Combined, the two expenditure categories accounted for ₦14.48 billion in spending by the end of September.
However, the Ministry of Public Security and Safety received no capital releases during the period, despite having ₦250 million earmarked for capital projects in the 2026 budget.
The ministry also received only 24.8 per cent of its ₦650 million overhead allocation, leaving most of the approved amount unreleased by the end of September.
The disparity raises questions about how the government intends to equip and strengthen the institution officially responsible for coordinating security and safety operations across Edo State.
Among the projects that received no capital funding were the procurement of body cameras, fire suits and breathing apparatus, as well as security equipment for the Edo State Security Corps and Command.
Other planned initiatives included the establishment of a safety and security information database and a mobile validation system intended to support security operations and information management.
According to the budget performance report, the absence of capital releases meant these planned projects received no capital funding from the ministry’s allocation during the period under review.
The figures are particularly significant because the ministry’s responsibilities extend beyond conventional policing to include public safety coordination, emergency-response capacity and security information management.
Persistent security concerns
Edo State has continued to grapple with kidnapping, cult-related violence, attacks on communities and criminal activities along major roads, prompting repeated calls for stronger security measures.
In January 2026, residents of Ekpoma and neighbouring communities protested worsening kidnappings, disrupting economic activities and blocking a federal highway to draw attention to their concerns.
The European Union Agency for Asylum, in a January 2026 report on Nigeria’s security situation, also identified kidnapping for ransom, cult-related killings, communal violence and attacks by armed groups among the security challenges affecting Edo. The report cited data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project recording 237 security incidents and 212 fatalities in the state between January 2024 and August 2025.
Security incidents have continued to attract attention in 2026. In August, police reportedly rescued four people abducted along the Lagos–Benin Expressway after armed men blocked the Ugbokun axis with logs of wood and leaves before attacking motorists.
In September, police said they had arrested 13 suspected kidnappers and rescued nine victims across the state during August.
The state government has also acknowledged the challenges. In June, Commissioner for Public Safety and Security Festus Ebea said forest guards and members of the Edo State Security Corps were being deployed to strengthen security across the state’s 18 local government areas.
Questions over spending priorities
The budget figures present a central accountability question for Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration: how is the substantial expenditure on security votes and services translating into improved public safety, and why were the ministry’s planned capital projects left without funding?
The figures alone do not establish that the money spent on security was misused, nor do they show that the ministry received no support from other government institutions. Security votes and services may finance operations beyond the ministry’s direct budget.
Nevertheless, the difference between the billions spent on security-related expenditure and the absence of capital releases for the coordinating ministry warrants a clear public explanation.
The government should disclose the broad purposes of the expenditure, the agencies and operations supported, and the outcomes achieved, while respecting legitimate operational confidentiality. It should also explain why the ministry’s capital allocation was not released and whether the projects have been deferred, funded through other channels or abandoned.
For residents facing persistent security threats, the priority is not merely how much government spends but whether public expenditure produces measurable improvements in the protection of lives and property.
