Following the rising wave of school abductions in the country, experts have called for urgent reforms in the Safe School initiative.
According to media tally done by The PUNCH, over 2,000 students and teachers have been kidnapped since the establishment of the Safe Schools initiative.
The initiative was established in 2014 but took effect in 2015 to secure a learning environment for teachers and students.
According to media reports, isolated cases were reported between 2015 and 2017.
However, since the 2018 abduction of 110 schoolgirls from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, by the Islamic State West Africa Province, a series of mass kidnappings have continued to target schools across northern and central Nigeria despite government interventions.
While most of the Dapchi schoolgirls were later released, Leah Sharibu remained in captivity after reportedly refusing to renounce her Christian faith.
In December 2020, 303 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, were abducted by bandits, alongside 80 pupils from an Islamiyya school in the same period.
Between February and March 2021, similar attacks occurred in Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna states, including the abduction of 279 girls in Jangebe, 27 students and staff in Kagara, and 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka.
Subsequent attacks included the kidnapping of about 150 students in Niger State in May 2021, 96 students and eight teachers in Kebbi State in June 2021, and 153 students and staff of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna, in July 2021.
In August 2021, 15 students and four staff were abducted from Zamfara College of Agriculture, while in September of the same year, 73 students were kidnapped in Zamfara.
More recent incidents include the abduction of 24 students in Zamfara and 20 in Kano in September 2023, as well as the kidnapping of students in Nasarawa in October 2023.
In March 2024, 287 students were abducted from Government Secondary School, Kuriga, Kaduna State, while the most recent incident in June 2026 saw seven students kidnapped in Zamfara, even as earlier Oyo and Borno abductions remain unresolved.
N82bn for arms
A national plan on Safe Schools financing for 2023 – 2026 obtained by our correspondent showed that N82,909,728,970 was allocated to security agencies for the procurement of arms and ammunition, platforms and equipment, staff training, and operational activities.
The plan shows that the Federal Government would contribute N119.83bn, while the states were expected to provide N24.93bn for the entire project.
A year-by-year breakdown of allocations for the Safe Schools Initiative shows that N32,588,153,000 was earmarked in 2023, N36,988,863,050 in 2024, N37,157,876,475 in 2025, and N38,033,012,329 in 2026.
The allocation for security agencies indicates that N5,000,000,000 was earmarked for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in 2023, N5,250,000,000 in 2024, N5,512,500,000 in 2025, and N5,788,125,000 in 2026.
For the Defence Headquarters, N4,000,000,000 was allocated in 2023, N200,000,000 in 2024, N4,410,000,000 in 2025, and N4,630,500,000 in 2026.
The amount earmarked for the police was N5,725,000,000 in 2023, N6,011,250,000 in 2024, N6,311,812,500 in 2025, and N6,627,403,125 in 2026.
For the Department of State Services, N5,285,950,000 was earmarked in 2023, N5,550,258,000 in 2024, N5,827,770,900 in 2025, and N6,779,159,445 in 2026.
Reacting to the trend, former Assistant Inspector General of Police, Wilson Inalegwu (retd), called for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s security coordination framework, stressing that intelligence-driven policing remains the most effective solution.
“The only thing that can solve this problem is intelligence. That is what Colombia did. They have intelligence coordination across agencies, including military intelligence, the police, and civil defence,” he said.
He said state-level security structures must be strengthened and properly coordinated with federal agencies.
“The government must take the issue of security coordination seriously… each state security committee should function like a decentralised national security council,” he added.
Inalegwu also emphasised the need for integrated intelligence centres involving security agencies, traditional rulers, and local authorities.
“If we have people bringing information together in real time, attacks can be detected and prevented before they happen,” he said.
He further advocated stronger collaboration between security agencies and communities, noting that intelligence sharing and rapid response systems remained critical to curbing mass abductions.
Also, a retired Commissioner of Police, Lawrence Alobi, called for a review of the security architecture.
According to him, all security services must play active roles in protecting educational institutions.
“Security is a collective responsibility of every Nigerian. Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution makes security and welfare the primary purpose of government, while Section 24 places a responsibility on citizens to assist security agencies in maintaining law and order,” he said.
He argued that the sheer number of schools across the country made it difficult for a single agency to provide adequate coverage.
“There are too many schools. When you consider primary, secondary and tertiary institutions spread across the country, you begin to ask whether any one agency has the manpower to cover all of them effectively,” he said.
Alobi further stressed that tackling insecurity in schools required a multi-agency approach involving the police, NSCDC, military, intelligence agencies and local communities.
“What is important is not which agency gets the credit, but ensuring that schools are safe and children can learn without fear,” he said.
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