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By Gloria Ikibah

Nigeria’s intelligence services have requested for additional funding to strengthen the country’s response to growing security pressures.

The appeal was made by the Permanent Secretary for Special Services at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Sanusi, during the 2026 budget defence session before the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence.

He argued that the request has become even more urgent following President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a State of Emergency on national security.

Sanusi maintained that meaningful development is impossible without a stable and secure environment, as he emphasised that security must remain at the heart of national planning.

His presentation covered the operations of the Office of the National Security Adviser and its specialised centres, including the National Counter Terrorism Centre, National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre, National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Also within the scope of the briefing were the Department of State Services, National Intelligence Agency, National Institute for Security Studies and the Presidential Air Fleet.

Looking ahead to the 2026 financial year, the intelligence community has outlined a broad agenda. Priority areas include intensified efforts against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping through stronger intelligence gathering and deeper community engagement.

Safeguarding critical infrastructure to protect economic activity and food supply chains is also high on the list, alongside tighter protection for oil and gas assets to boost production, strengthen maritime safety and reinforce border security.

Cybersecurity remains another central concern, particularly as digital threats grow in scale and sophistication. Authorities are also determined to maintain stability within Abuja’s Three Arms Zone, across the Federal Capital Territory and throughout the country. Investment in personnel training and institutional capacity is expected to help agencies adapt to emerging threats, including cross-border crimes and the spread of small arms and light weapons across the West African corridor. Developments in neighbouring countries, especially political unrest, are also being closely monitored for their potential impact on Nigeria.

Despite these ambitions, officials acknowledged a series of obstacles in implementing the 2025 budget. The existing envelope system of budget has limited flexibility and restricted the allocation of sufficient resources to intelligence operations. There have also been delays and inconsistencies in the release of overhead funds, as well as gaps in approved allocations.

Capital funding has yet to be fully released, while the high exchange rate continues to inflate costs, particularly as many service agreements are denominated in US dollars. Shortfalls in operational vehicles have affected both covert and overt assignments. Additionally, the cost of maintaining the Presidential Air Fleet abroad has risen sharply due to foreign exchange pressures, rather than servicing the aircraft domestically.

Against this backdrop, security officials insist that additional financial backing is essential if Nigeria is to respond swiftly and effectively to evolving threats at home and across the region.

“I wish to state and reiterate to the Distinguished Members that the Intelligence Community always assured this Committee and the entire National Assembly of its commitment to transparency, accountability and effective resource management by ensuring that the budgetary provisions align with the government’s overall security objectives.

“Finally, the Intelligence Community acknowledged and thanked Mr.

President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for his commitments and determination to ensure peace and security returns in our respective communities. We also remain grateful to the National Assembly and its leadership for the support and understanding,” he said.

Chairman of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Rep. Ahmad Satomi, said the allocation for the intelligence sub-sector was abysmal.

“I am also happy that Mr. President in his speech acknowledged the relevance of the intelligence subsector in the overall drive for a stable national security. In the 2026 budget speech, he said “Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine — a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence gathering, community stability, and counter – insurgency. This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes.”

“However, looking at the 2026 Budget proposal, the Defence and security is allocated 5.41 trillion-naira. The intelligence subsector comprising the Office of the NSA and its Agencies, the Department of State Services, The National Intelligence Agency, Presidential Air Fleet and the National Institute for Security Studes is allocated a total of N664,119,740 for their Personnel, overhead and Capital Expenditures in 2026. Further breakdown shows that personnel cost for all the Agencies in the Intelligence sector for 2026 is N245,941,663,329, total overhead cost proposal is N131,273,507,85 and total proposed capital expenditure N286,904,549,354.

“These allocations are indeed very abysmal and does not seem to match the intent of the speech delivered by the president to the Joint Session of the National Assembly on December 19th 2025.

“Also, there is absolutely nothing to suggest that the presidency priorities security and intelligence if we go by the releases for the 2025 budget implementation, at the least the releases that is known to us. One would have expected that if indeed the provision of welfare and security is the primary purpose of governance, then releases to the security sector should not be treated trivially.

“This Committee is therefore making a passionate appeal to our dear president to please look into the funding of the agencies in the intelligence sector, enhance them and prioritise them,” Satomi said.

He noted that President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly underscored the central role of national security in driving economic progress and maintaining stability, describing it as the foundation upon which development rests.

“In doing so, the President has reaffirmed the government’s foremost duty as set out in Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which places the security and welfare of citizens at the heart of state responsibility”, the chairman said.

Rep. Satomi suggested that this objective cannot be realised unless both the executive and the legislature regard themselves as genuine partners in the national enterprise.

“For progress to be sustained, each arm of government must recognise and respect the constitutional boundaries and obligations of the other”, he added.

Satomi also cautioned that it is counterproductive for security and intelligence agencies to treat parliamentary scrutiny as interference whenever legislative committees carry out oversight functions within the security sector. Such attitudes, he indicated, undermine cooperation and do little to advance the country’s broader interests.

He said it was regrettable to observe the resistance of some agencies to parliamentary oversight responsibility.

“Oversight does not mean antagonism, hostility or witch hunts but rather it helps to get the Nigerian people participate in security governance through its elected representatives. This engenders citizens trust and appreciation of our men and women in the security sector, ensures transparency, accountability and value for money in the execution of government projects, programs and policies in the sector.

“I dare say that not everything should be classified for the leadership and members of standing committees oversighting security and intelligence agencies. As honourable members of the National Assembly we are bound by our Oaths/Affirmation of Allegiance and Oath of Membership prescribed in the seventh schedule of the constitution.

“I therefore call for a change of attitude from the affected agencies so that together and as partners in nation building, we can carry out the primary responsibility of government which is the provision of welfare and security to every Nigerian. No one arm of government can do it alone,” he said.

He noted that the National Assembly has enacted several legislations to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the security and intelligence sector.

He expected that going forward, the Committee on National Security and Intelligence will continuously engage all relevant stakeholders, particularly those entrusted to execute the body of laws in the security and intelligence sector to ensure that these legislations are not just there in the shelves but that every provision is implemented to the later in order to achieve the legislative intent for their enactments.

“In 2024, this committee undertook a visit to the training schools of the Department of sate services in Bauchi, Lagos and Enugu and have scheduled to visit the remaining ones in Kaduna and the proposed institutions sites at Kogi and Cross River States. We also visited the Training school of the NIA in Lagos.

“We were disheartened by the sorry state of the facilities in all the schools we visited as what we observed cannot in all honestly deliver world class technical, psychological and sociological capabilities to our men and women who are laying down their lives for the service of our beloved country.

“Again, this committee calls on our dear president to direct that these training schools be given separate funding heads in the budget as is done with the Armed forces and police training intuitions and adequate provisions should be made to run them

“Hon Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, as we deliberate on the 2026 budget proposal today, this committee wish to assure you and all Nigerians that the House of Representatives is fully committed to supporting the agencies in the Intelligence sector to achieve success in the execution of their mandates.

“Our institutional efforts to deliver a safe, secured and conducive country which Nigerians and foreign residents are proud to live in and carry out their legitimate businesses should be collaborative and complimentary,” he stated.