House of Representatives Considers Establishing Security and Intelligence Trust Fund
The House of Representatives is considering the establishment of a Security and Intelligence Trust Fund. The proposed bill has successfully passed its first and second readings in the lower legislative chamber.
Speaking on Tuesday at a public hearing on the bill, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, emphasized that the legislation aims to enhance Nigeria’s security and intelligence infrastructure.
“As you are aware, the security of life and property is a crucial tool for nation-building. It is one of the most effective instruments for attracting investment and ensuring even development across the country,” Abbas stated.
He further stressed the importance of security, particularly in a country like Nigeria, which is making concerted efforts to attract investment, create job opportunities, and address youth unemployment.
According to the Speaker, security remains a major challenge in the country, with the loss of human lives and destruction of property resulting from banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, oil and mineral theft, and insurgency.
“These issues have collectively discouraged investors and created humanitarian crises by displacing families,” he noted. “Additionally, they have led to food security concerns as farmers abandon their farms due to safety threats. It is, therefore, imperative that we leverage legislative instruments to effectively tackle these challenges.”
Despite these difficulties, Abbas commended the dedication of security forces in maintaining law and order. He highlighted that the proposed trust fund would increase financial support for security agencies, enhancing their intelligence-gathering capabilities, training programs, and acquisition of modern equipment to preempt security threats.
Chairman of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Ahmad Satomi, added that the fund would primarily be used for the training and retraining of security personnel across Nigeria.
He further explained that the fund would facilitate the procurement of state-of-the-art security and intelligence equipment, as well as the development of infrastructure to improve the technical competence and operational readiness of security forces.
“The fund will support the upgrade and maintenance of training institutions to global standards, provide resources for research and development, and ensure that intelligence agencies, the armed forces, and other relevant paramilitary organizations operate at par with the best security agencies in the world,” Satomi said.
He pointed out that Nigerian intelligence agencies have been historically underfunded, with more resources allocated to kinetic responses—direct military and armed interventions—rather than intelligence-based security solutions.
“Globally, it is recognized that kinetic operations alone cannot sustainably ensure peace and security. At best, kinetic responses contribute no more than 30% to long-term stability,” he noted.
“It is time to place greater emphasis on intelligence gathering, intelligence sharing, and collaborative deployment of actionable intelligence. These measures are crucial to significantly reducing insecurity and its devastating impact on the Nigerian economy.”
Satomi concluded by assuring that the bill includes provisions to prevent the mismanagement of resources and ensure the effective implementation of its objectives.
With the passage of this bill, the longstanding funding deficits in Nigeria’s security and intelligence sector are expected to be significantly addressed, strengthening the nation’s overall security framework.