In Major Shift, Northern States to Fund Own War Chest Against Insecurity

To donate N228bn yearly for regional security

Propose six months ban on mining in region

The 19 governors of Northern Nigeria, in concert with the region’s foremost traditional rulers, have resolved to take direct financial control of the fight against rampant insecurity by establishing a dedicated N19 billion monthly (N228 billion) annual security fund.

The resolution, reached at a high stakes emergency summit in Kaduna on Monday, represents the most concrete and collective financial commitment yet from the region’s leadership to combat the scourge of banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism that has plagued its communities for over a decade.

The joint meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, held at the Kashim Ibrahim House, came against a backdrop of escalating and audacious attacks that have left the populace in a state of fear and despair.

It followed merely days after a separate, regional emergency security meeting convened by Northwest governors in Kaduna, hosted by Governor Uba Sani. That earlier meeting, itself a response to a wave of catastrophic violence, underscored the acute and immediate nature of the crisis but remained largely a forum for deliberation. Monday’s broader assembly, incorporating the entire North and its royal institutions, was explicitly tasked with moving from rhetoric to binding, actionable resolutions.

The urgency was clear in the communiqué issued at the close of the meeting. The forum extended its “deepest condolences and solidarity” to the governments and people of Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Kano States following recent massacres and mass abductions of schoolchildren.

It also acknowledged the victims of persistent Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Yobe States.

The centrepiece of the new strategy is the establishment of a Northern Regional Security Trust Fund. The mechanics are direct and uncompromising: each of the 19 northern states and their local government areas are to make a mandatory monthly contribution of One Billion Naira. This sum is to be “deducted at source” under an agreed framework, ensuring a steady, predictable, and collective flow of capital.

This approach will bypass potential delays or defaults, guaranteeing a war chest of N228 billion every year. The fund is envisioned to finance a range of security enhancements, potentially including advanced surveillance technology, tactical equipment for state-backed security outfits, improved intelligence gathering, and comprehensive support for community policing iinitiatives.

The move is a tacit acknowledgement that reliance on federal security apparatuses alone has been insufficient and that regional stakeholders must directly bankroll their own safety.

This financial commitment was coupled with two other bold policy positions aimed at draining the swamp in which insecurity thrives. First, the forum took a firm stance on one of the most pernicious drivers of violence: illegal mining. It observed that “illegal mining has become a major contributory factor to the security crises in Northern Nigeria.” Consequently, it resolved to “strongly recommend” to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the Minister of Solid Minerals be directed to suspend all mining exploration in the region for six months.

This suspension, according to the communique, would allow for a proper audit and the revalidation of all mining licences, a process to be conducted in “active consultation” with state governors.

The goal is explicit: to “arrest the menace of artisanal illegal mining,” which has long been identified as a key source of funding and conflict for armed groups, who exploit mineral resources and battle for control of lucrative sites.

Second, the forum reaffirmed its “wholehearted support and commitment to the establishment of State Police.” It went beyond endorsement to issue a directive, encouraging “National and States Assembly Members in the region to expedite action for its actualisation.”

This aligns perfectly with the financial initiative; a regional security fund would logically be used to equip, train, and sustain the proposed state-level policing structures, creating a more localised and responsive security architecture.

The communiqué was careful to frame these assertive regional steps within the context of continued federal collaboration. It commended President Tinubu’s administration for “leaving no stone unturned” in securing the release of some abducted children and handling security challenges.

It also praised the sacrifices of the armed forces and renewed its support for the Commander-in-Chief’s actions against insurgents. However, the subtext was clear: while federal partnership is welcomed, the states of the North can no longer afford to be passive spectators in a war being waged on their own soil.

The forum resolved to reconvene at a later date, suggesting this is not the end but the beginning of a monitored implementation process.

The meeting followed President Tinubu’s recent threat to go after those threatening Nigeria’s peace, declaring his administration “fully mobilised to hunt the enemies of state wherever they may be.”

The President’s declaration came on Sunday in Lokoja during a memorial for the late former Governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu. He was represented by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.

Tinubu reaffirmed that restoring peace and strengthening national security are his government’s top priorities. “Let me be unequivocal: the security and welfare of every Nigerian remain the sacred priority of my government. We have therefore taken decisive action,” he stated.

He framed the recently declared State of Emergency on national security as a direct “declaration of war against all forms of insecurity,” noting an immediate process to expand the armed forces and security agencies in numbers, weaponry, and intelligence.

The President also championed the establishment of State Police as a “courageous” and “necessary constitutional step” to provide community-sensitive security and boost grassroots employment. He added that the government is intensifying international diplomacy to correct false narratives about Nigeria’s religious harmony.

Paying tribute to the late Prince Audu, Tinubu described him as a “giant” and a “pathfinder” in Nigeria’s democratic journey, crediting him as a formidable ally who helped lay the foundation for the nation’s enduring democracy.

“The legacy of development Prince Audu began in Kogi is a model we are determined to replicate and scale across the nation,” Tinubu said.

Outlining his vision, the President highlighted ongoing economic reforms, including an initiative to modernize the livestock industry to transform it into a “bastion of prosperity,” ensure food security, and foster peace. He also pointed to expanded Social Investment Programmes and a national infrastructure drive as evidence of his commitment to a more united and prosperous Nigeria.