Can a new national peace policy fix Nigeria’s security problems?

September 8, 2026

Nigeria is revising its National Peace Policy amid record military spending and escalating violence, including insurgency, banditry, and mass kidnappings that killed over 1,100 people and saw nearly 8,000 abductions between mid-2025 and mid-2026. While the country increased defense spending by 55 percent to $2. 1 billion, government officials acknowledge military force alone cannot resolve underlying issues like structural inequality, governance failures, and limited opportunities that fuel recurring conflict.

Who is affected

Nigerian citizens, particularly the 7,825 people abducted and 1,142 killed between July 2025 and June 2026
Rural communities in the northwest affected by banditry and mass kidnapping
Communities in the northeast experiencing ongoing insurgency
Nigeria's 240 million population across hundreds of ethnic and linguistic groups
The 28,000 additional soldiers approved for recruitment
Government agencies including the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), and state peace commissions
Peacebuilding organizations and development partners participating in the policy review

What action is being taken

Lawmakers are reviewing the National Peace Policy
Government agencies, peacebuilding organizations, development partners, and technical experts are meeting in Abuja and three geopolitical zones (Kano, Enugu, and Lagos) to review the old policy and shape a new one
President Bola Tinubu approved the recruitment of 28,000 additional soldiers and creation of new army divisions
Nigeria is spending heavily on military operations, with military expenditure increasing by 55 percent to $2.1 billion

Why it matters

This matters because Nigeria's escalating violence—with nearly 8,000 kidnappings and over 1,100 deaths in one year—demonstrates that increased military spending alone cannot resolve complex security challenges. The policy represents a fundamental shift in approach from reactive military responses toward addressing root causes like structural inequality, governance failures, and lack of opportunity that perpetuate cycles of violence. With Nigeria's diverse population of 240 million people and regionally distinct conflicts, coordinated peacebuilding efforts could potentially reduce resource waste, prevent institutional rivalry, and ensure vulnerable communities don't fall through gaps in the security architecture. The outcome will determine whether Africa's most populous nation can break patterns of recurring violence.

What's next

The success of the revised policy will depend on what happens after the consultations end, with the task being to align and scale up Nigeria's expanded peacebuilding infrastructure across federal, state, and local levels. However, no explicit timeline or specific implementation steps are stated in the article.

Read full article from source: Global Voices