ABUJA, Nigeria — Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has raised alarm over the inadequate funding for Nigeria’s border and internal security systems, warning that current arrangements leave the country dangerously exposed to infiltration and terrorism.
Speaking at a public forum, Tunji-Ojo described the Nigeria Immigration Service’s (NIS) 2025 budget allocation of ₦10 billion as “grossly insufficient” to effectively monitor and secure Nigeria’s 4,024 square kilometre border space.
“If you look at the 2025 budget, how much do you even have for border security? The whole budget of the Nigeria Immigration Service is about ₦10 billion,” he said.
“And you want to protect 4,024 sq/km of our border space; are we joking?”
The minister argued that Nigeria’s porous borders pose a direct threat to national security, as they allow unregulated entry by foreign elements, including insurgents.
“If you kill one terrorist and the border is porous, 20 would come in,” he warned.
“We need to be very realistic with ourselves — do we want a system that works, or do we just want to play the gallery?”
Tunji-Ojo also criticised the existing funding model for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), insisting that its reliance on budgetary allocations hampers efficiency and strategic planning.
“I do not see a reason why our police should even rely on budgetary allocations,” he said.
“You have a police force that relies on budget and capital release and all that, and you think we would be efficient?”
While commending the capabilities of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the leadership of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Tunji-Ojo lamented what he described as the misplacement of internal security responsibilities.
“We have the most brilliant people in our DSS; we have our NIN working fine; see the kind of leadership the NSA is providing,” he noted.
“But the truth is that when we talk about internal security, the first thing that comes to a Nigerian’s mind is the military. That is a sign of the failure of our internal security agencies.”
On digital security, the minister warned that Nigeria’s current approach to cybersecurity is outdated and disorganised.
He called for a well-structured and proactive national cybersecurity framework to respond to emerging threats.
“We have an opportunity to get things right. The attention we are supposed to pay to cybersecurity — we are still living 20 years behind,” he said.
“We cannot continue to run a cybersecurity architecture on an ad hoc arrangement; there must be a proper security framework.”
Watch the video below:
We must improve our security architecture says minister of interior Hon. Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo . pic.twitter.com/OeObLp8cHb
— Olufunke Odetoye (@odetoye41087) June 17, 2025
