The President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has disbursed ₦5.15tn in special intervention funds to the Nigerian military and related security agencies between November 2023 and September 2026, amid persistent insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes across the country.
An analysis by The PUNCH of documents from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, obtained on Thursday, revealed that the government received ₦5.65tn into a dedicated special intervention account over the period, out of which ₦5.15tn had been disbursed, representing 91.15 per cent of the total funds.
The records showed that the intervention was financed through allocations from the Federation Account and other government revenue sources, including non-oil revenue and funds transferred from a FAAC withholding account.
The document, titled ‘Ledger of Special Intervention Programme for Nigerian Military September, 2026”, was prepared by the Federation Account Department of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and formed part of the records presented to the Technical Sub-Committee of FAAC at its meeting in Abuja on October 14, 2026.
According to the ledger, the ₦5.15tn was released through 30 payment transactions between November 8, 2023, and September 23, 2026, while the total receipts were recorded across 33 funding transactions.
The disbursements were separate from the regular annual budgetary allocations to the Ministry of Defence and other security institutions, indicating the scale of additional financial resources channelled towards security operations.
However, the records did not provide a breakdown of the specific military operations, equipment purchases, personnel costs or security projects financed with the money.
A breakdown of the transactions showed that the intervention programme commenced with a ₦100bn transfer on October 19, 2023, described as the September 2023 allocation.
The first payment of ₦100bn was made to the military on November 8, 2023, while another ₦100bn was received on November 20, 2023, and subsequently disbursed on December 20.
By the end of December 2023, the account had received N300bn and disbursed N300bn, leaving no outstanding balance.
The funding arrangement continued throughout 2024, with regular transfers of N100bn and corresponding payments to military and paramilitary agencies.
Between January and December 2024, the account received N1.2tn and disbursed the same amount, bringing cumulative receipts and payments to N1.5tn.
The transactions were largely recorded as monthly allocations under the special intervention programme, although the payment dates did not always correspond with the months for which the funds were allocated.
For instance, the January 2024 allocation was transferred on February 27, while the corresponding payment was made on March 1.
Similarly, the ledger showed that the programme entered a second phase in July 2024, beginning with a N100bn transfer on July 27.
The second phase continued into 2025, with the government maintaining the N100bn monthly funding pattern.
During the first nine months of 2025, the account received N900bn and disbursed N900bn, bringing cumulative payments to N2.4tn by September 1, 2025.
Credit: punchng.com
