FG spends N14bn on military upgrade

In a bid to address the increasing insecurity across the nation, the Federal Government has spent an additional N14bn on military equipment between September and October 2024.

According to Saturday PUNCH, earlier in the year, between January and July, the government had already expended N63.6bn on procuring equipment and ammunition for the military and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Investigations conducted through GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks Federal Government expenditures, revealed significant payments made during this period. On April 16, 2024, the Ministry of Defence paid N990m to Equipment and Protective Applications International Limited for the procurement of ammunition.

Similarly, on April 22, the ministry paid another N941m to the same company for the acquisition of light tactical armored vehicles, heavy anti-mine armored vehicles, and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

In July 2024, further large-scale payments were made. On July 2, the Ministry of Defence spent N3.2bn to procure bullet-resistant guard booths equipped with surveillance capabilities and proximity detectors for the military. Additionally, on July 26, the ministry transferred N33bn in five tranches from its naira transit account for critical and urgent operational military equipment.

The following day, on July 27, the Defence Headquarters paid N3bn for operational support to procure urgent requirements as part of the 2023 supplementary appropriation. By July 31, the government had released N22bn to ONSA as a special intervention fund for the purchase of critical equipment.

Between September and October 2024, another N14bn was spent by the Defence Headquarters on various military hardware. On September 13, N4bn was allocated for the procurement of critical combat equipment for the armed forces.

On October 9, the Nigerian Air Force made two payments—N5.2bn and N1.2bn—for defence equipment. Later, on October 23, the Ministry of Defence released an additional N4bn for similar purposes. Altogether, the government spent N77.6bn on arms procurement within the first ten months of 2024.

A review of the Defence Ministry’s yearly budgets and allocations to eight other armed forces revealed that between 2020 and 2023, the government spent N231.27bn on arms and ammunition for security agencies.

This included N11.72bn in 2020, N10.78bn in 2021, N9.64bn in 2022, and N47.02bn with an additional N184.25bn in supplementary budgets in 2023. During this period, an additional N115bn was spent on the importation of arms and ammunition.

Explaining the high expenditure on arms procurement, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, stated during a 2023 appearance before the House of Representatives, alongside other security chiefs, that the cost of ammunition should not be deemed excessive because most military hardware is priced in dollars, as Nigeria does not produce its own.