By Merciful Omoba
Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has stated that Nigeria can reduce terrorism by almost 70% if the Federal Government redirects a portion of the military budget toward internal policing and security sector reforms.
Speaking on Tuesday during Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Sowore argued that mismanaged, stolen, or even properly allocated military funds could make a far greater impact if channeled into police welfare and infrastructure.
“All that cost to the military that is stolen, filtered, or mismanaged—or properly spent where they claimed to—if you invest that in internal policing in a year, you will get a reduction in terrorism by almost 70 per cent,” he said.
“You get a reduction in kidnapping by almost 80 per cent, and you get almost zero per cent in crime rate all over the country.”
Sowore lamented the poor condition of Nigeria’s internal security, pointing out that the police force remains underfunded, underpaid, and undervalued, despite playing a frontline role in maintaining peace and order.
“Nigeria’s security architecture is broken,” he stated, criticizing what he described as misplaced priorities in national budgeting.
“An average senator takes 30 to 50 million naira, and a police officer—who doesn’t go to sleep, who guards your borders, houses, parties, children’s schools, and to whom you report whenever anything happens—is getting paid nothing.”
His remarks came a day after joining retired police officers in a peaceful protest in Abuja, where they demanded improved welfare and an exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
