The organisation said security contracts remain the biggest cash-out channel for political and military elites who profit from opaque procurement and “ghost” operations.
As Nigeria joined the global community to mark the United Nations Anti-Corruption Day, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International (TI)-Nigeria on Saturday stated that corruption remains the oxygen sustaining the country’s worsening security crisis.
In a statement signed by CISLAC Executive Director and TI-Nigeria head, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the organisation accused government officials, security chiefs and political actors of deliberately feeding off the insecurity industry while citizens continue to die, disappear and live in fear.
Rafsanjani said despite billions pumped into defence, police operations, security votes and special military interventions, the country has not been safer because the entire system is built on diversion, inflated contracts, illegal arms deals, compromised recruitment and a welfare structure that abandons soldiers and police officers on the frontlines.
According to CISLAC/TI-Nigeria, the ongoing war against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping-for-ransom, oil theft, militancy and organised crime has failed largely because corruption has infiltrated every level of national security management, from procurement to deployment, intelligence gathering, promotions and even posthumous entitlements.
The organisation said security contracts remain the biggest cash-out channel for political and military elites who profit from opaque procurement and “ghost” operations.
It noted that frontline personnel continue to suffer starvation allowances, substandard kits, unpaid insurance claims, while widows of officers killed in service wait endlessly for compensation.
Rafsanjani also accused the security sector of running a recruitment racketeering mafia where bribes, ethnic loyalty and political clearance determine who enters security institutions.
He said this culture of impunity has allowed unqualified officers to occupy sensitive roles while competent career officers are sidelined, fueling inefficiency and internal sabotage.
CISLAC/TI-Nigeria further slammed what it called a “VIP insecurity economy,” where private individuals enjoy platoon-level escorts and illegal police deployment, while ordinary Nigerians remain exposed to kidnappers, cult gangs and terror cells.
The group cited entrenched nepotism, tenure extension tricks in security leadership and deliberate sabotage of intelligence-sharing as additional drivers of insecurity.
It said the National Assembly has largely failed to provide independent oversight of defence spending and continues to approve trillions in classified budgets with zero accountability.
It condemned routine police roadblock extortion, describing it as a criminal revenue pyramid where junior officers are compelled to remit weekly returns to senior commanders.
Rafsanjani warned that Nigeria now hosts one of the highest concentrations of illicit arms in West Africa, with an estimated 70% of smuggled weapons circulating in the country, further powering terrorist financing and violent extremism.
The organisation cited the 2024 Global Terrorism Index ranking which placed Nigeria among the top 10 most terrorised nations on earth.
CISLAC/TI-Nigeria insisted that insecurity has become an organised business for some individuals in government who broker ransom deals, facilitate negotiations with terrorists and maintain a cycle of violence that guarantees continuous funding.
The group demanded an immediate overhaul of defence procurement, full disclosure of security expenditure, and independent audits of procurement and contract performance.
It urged the National Assembly to stop rubber-stamping security budgets and begin forensic scrutiny of defence allocations, operational results and welfare disbursement.
It called for severe sanctions for officers involved in bribery, extortion, collusion with criminal networks and operational compromise, noting that corruption in security is no longer a governance failure but a national threat.
CISLAC/TI-Nigeria pushed for inter-agency intelligence integration, whistle-blower protection, proper insurance and standard equipment for troops, arguing that no weapon system can defeat terrorists if the system handling it is corrupt.
“Security will continue to collapse no matter how much is spent if corruption remains the foundation,” Rafsanjani warned.
He added that Nigerians are paying with blood while a small powerful circle continues to profit from insecurity.
CISLAC/TI-Nigeria reaffirmed its commitment to mobilising citizens, parliament and security stakeholders to dismantle corruption networks in defence operations.
According to the organisation, Nigeria deserves a future where safety is not traded for contracts, kickbacks or political protection rackets, but one secured by accountability, justice and national interest.