The Federal Government has disbursed N5.15tn 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, ABNTV reports that the government received N5.65tn into a dedicated special intervention account over the period, out of which N5.15tn had been disbursed, representing 91.15 percent 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 N5.15tn 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 N100bn transfer on October 19, 2023, described as the September 2023 allocation.
The first payment of N100bn was made to the military on November 8, 2023, while another N100bn 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.
An analysis of the transactions, therefore, showed that N2.4tn was disbursed between November 2023 and September 2025, before the government significantly increased the scale of the intervention in 2026.
The records indicated that the funding arrangement changed considerably in 2026, with individual transfers rising from the previous N100bn monthly pattern to between N200bn and N500bn.
On March 18, 2026, the government transferred N200bn from the FAAC Withheld Account, described in the ledger as savings for March 2026.
The amount was followed by an N100bn payment to security agencies on March 16, although the payment preceded the recorded transfer by two days.
