Odita Sunday 
HURIWA Demands Accountability From Governors Over N435bn Security, Infrastructure Funds
By Odita Sunday
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has challenged state governors to account for about N435.25 billion reportedly received by 29 states between January and June 2026 under the State Infrastructure and Security funding window.
The rights group, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Friday, August 21, 2026, urged governors to stop blaming the Federal Government for security failures and explain how funds available to them for security and infrastructure are being utilised.
HURIWA said the reported allocation had heightened the need for greater transparency, particularly as kidnapping, banditry, attacks on communities, poor roads, collapsed schools and deteriorating public facilities continue to affect millions of Nigerians.
The organisation specifically challenged governors in states grappling with serious security challenges across the North-East, North-West, North-Central and South-East, including Plateau, Benue, Imo, Anambra and Enugu, to outline the measures being implemented with available resources.
“Governors cannot continue to collect more money, exercise enormous constitutional powers and then blame Abuja whenever their citizens are kidnapped, killed or displaced,” HURIWA said.
The group called on state governments to publish detailed records of funds received for security and infrastructure, including the amounts received, projects approved, contractors engaged, project locations, contract sums, payments made and current levels of completion.
It also urged state Houses of Assembly to exercise their constitutional oversight responsibilities by investigating the utilisation of the funds.
HURIWA further called on civil society organisations, journalists and citizens to scrutinise state finances and demand evidence of projects and security investments funded with public resources.
“Where are the projects? Where are the security investments? Where are the results? Who received the contracts? How much was spent?” the group asked.
The association expressed concern that some states continued to face severe insecurity and infrastructure deficits despite increased revenues available to subnational governments.
It cited available fiscal records indicating that Adamawa, Anambra and Oyo recorded no actual receipts under the dedicated State Infrastructure and Security revenue line during the first half of 2026, despite budgetary provisions or expectations in some cases.
HURIWA said the reported discrepancies required immediate clarification.
The group also recalled that at least 603 pupils, students and teachers were abducted in seven mass school abductions between March 2024 and May 2026, despite the Federal Government’s N145 billion Safe Schools Initiative.
It said the situation made it imperative for state governments to demonstrate concrete measures to protect schools, communities and vulnerable citizens.
While acknowledging recent Federal Government efforts to strengthen national security, including the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 divisions and the planned recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel, HURIWA maintained that the security of Nigerians could not be left entirely to Abuja.
The organisation said state governors, as the closest elected authorities to the people, must also take responsibility for the conditions under which their citizens live.
HURIWA further noted that some governors had acknowledged that states were receiving substantially increased resources, insisting that higher revenues should translate into measurable improvements in security and infrastructure.
The group described the situation as an emerging culture of “more money, less accountability,” saying increased allocations should result in safer communities, better roads, functional schools, improved healthcare, water supply and other tangible benefits.
“This is not a political witch-hunt. It is a demand for accountability,” HURIWA said.
The association consequently called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Auditor-General and other relevant accountability institutions to scrutinise the utilisation of the funds where credible allegations of diversion, misappropriation, inflated contracts or project abandonment exist.
HURIWA also urged the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to demand regular public reporting on the deployment of security and infrastructure funds.
The organisation said Nigerians should broaden their scrutiny of security spending by asking not only what the Federal Government was doing about insecurity but also what their state governments were doing with the resources at their disposal.
HURIWA insisted that citizens must follow the money from Abuja to the states and from state treasuries to actual projects, stressing that governors receiving substantial public funds should be prepared to demonstrate tangible results.
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