High Insecurity Leads NPF to Spend ₦402.8 Million on Burials in 14 Months

An analysis of government payment records on Govspend has revealed that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) allocated a substantial sum of ₦402.8 million towards burial expenses for its various commands and formations over a period of 14 months. This significant expenditure underscores the severe financial burden placed on the police force by the nation's ongoing security challenges.

The funds were distributed through eight distinct payments, categorized as overhead allocations for burial costs, spanning from April 2024 to December 2025. These disbursements were made to police units across the country.

A breakdown of the payments shows the following:

On April 5, 2024, the NPF released ₦55 million to cover burial expenses for numerous commands, schools, and zones, specifically for the January–February 2024 period.

Subsequently, on July 10, 2024, another ₦50 million was disbursed for burial expenses covering March–April 2024.

Just six weeks later, on August 21, 2024, a payment of ₦54.8 million was made, explicitly for "burial expenses to various commands and formations for the month of July, 2024 allocation."

October 10, 2024, saw the approval of an additional ₦50 million for burial expenses, this time for the July and August 2024 period, indicating a potential overlap with the previous July allocation.

As the year concluded, ₦60 million was paid on December 28, 2024, covering the September–October 2024 burial allocation.

The pattern of expenditure continued into 2025:

On June 27, 2025, ₦50 million was released for the January–February 2025 burial allocation.

Another ₦50 million was paid on October 14, 2025, described as "overhead cost allocation for burial expenses for commands and formations for the month of March/April 2025."

The final payment documented in the records occurred on December 31, 2025, with ₦33 million disbursed as overhead for May–June 2025 burial expenses to commands and formations.

Cumulatively, these eight payments amounted to ₦402.8 million, covering 14 distinct months of burial expense allocations, despite one entry for July 2024 appearing to overlap.

This substantial spending occurs amidst Nigeria's protracted security crisis, which sees police officers routinely deployed to confront terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, and communal conflicts nationwide. The Nigeria Police Force has, regrettably, suffered numerous casualties while performing their duties, engaging in joint security operations, responding to attacks, and confronting heavily armed criminal organizations.

While the Govspend records do not specify the exact number of officers whose funerals were funded or detail how these allocations were distributed among individual commands, they unequivocally highlight that burial expenses represent a consistent overhead cost for the police. These figures also underscore the financial implications of sustaining police operations during persistent security threats, requiring resources not only for active duties but also for the welfare of personnel lost in service. Further specifics regarding beneficiaries, individual command receipts, or allocation criteria were not provided in the payment descriptions.

In a recent related incident, SaharaReporters previously reported the abduction of Hon. Nura Umar Bungudu, the Chairman of Bungudu Local Government Area in Zamfara State. This occurred after an attack on his residence in Zango area, Bungudu town, on a Thursday night, leaving four security personnel dead. The location is less than 20 kilometers from Gusau, the state capital. Residents reported that heavily armed gunmen stormed the chairman's home, engaging security forces in a fierce gun battle before seizing the chairman. An anonymous resident confirmed the casualties, stating, "They killed two policemen and two vigilantes, including one volunteer vigilante who had been actively helping to protect the town from bandit attacks."