The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria have raised fresh alarms that entrenched corruption within the country’s security architecture remains one of the major forces driving the unending cycle of insecurity.
The warning came in a statement issued on Monday by CISLAC Executive Director and Head of TI-Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, to commemorate the 2025 United Nations International Anti-Corruption Day.
Rafsanjani said despite decades of heavy government spending on defence, the sector has continued to underperform because corrupt practices have “crippled operational capacity, weakened morale and exposed citizens to relentless attacks.”
“Corruption has become a destructive force that undermines every layer of the nation’s security system,” CISLAC/TI-Nigeria declared.
“It is entrenched in procurement, recruitment, welfare administration, intelligence sharing and command structures.”
The organisations accused officials of routinely siphoning defence budgets through inflated contracts, questionable procurement deals and diversion of funds meant for equipment and operations.
They added that corruption in welfare administration has left frontline officers poorly motivated, while the families of security personnel who die in active duty “often receive nothing, further weakening trust within the ranks.”
CISLAC/TI-Nigeria also warned that widespread recruitment racketeering has placed unqualified personnel in critical security roles while competent officers are sidelined.
“Nepotism, unlawful tenure extensions and the misuse of security privilege have created dangerous distortions in our security institutions,” the statement added.
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