The Senate has opened a comprehensive investigation into the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI), the national security and education programme launched in 2014 to enhance protection for students and learning environments following the abduction of over 300 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State.
The probe, initiated by fresh concerns over continued attacks on schools and mass abductions despite significant investments, will be led by an 18-member ad hoc committee chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North).
As part of the inquiry, the committee has summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Alausa; Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa; the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ahmed Audi; state governors; civil society partners; and representatives of school proprietors.
They are expected to provide detailed testimonies and documentation on the funding, implementation, and impact of the SSI.
Speaking at the committee’s inaugural meeting in Abuja, Senator Kalu said the investigation would be thorough, promising to invoke all relevant constitutional provisions and Senate Standing Orders to ensure compliance.
“This committee is not here for a witch-hunt but for truth and accountability,” Kalu said. “We must track every naira and every dollar allocated to the Safe Schools Initiative since inception.”
The investigation will focus on: Financial audit of domestic and international funds allocated from 2014 to date, Implementation review of security measures, early warning systems, and infrastructure upgrades, Assessment of operational effectiveness of security deployments and emergency response mechanisms and Partnership evaluations involving state governments, international donors, and private-sector contributors
The SSI launched with $10 million from Nigerian business leaders and an additional $10 million pledged by the Federal Government. Reports indicate that over $30 million was mobilised between 2014 and 2021.
More recently, the National Plan for Financing Safe Schools (2023–2026) proposed an investment of over N144.77 billion to strengthen school safety nationwide.
Despite major investments and a multilayered policy framework—including the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) and the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools (NPSSVFS)—schools remain targets of attacks.
Senator Kalu noted that over 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped and more than 180 educational facilities attacked since 2014.
“It is unacceptable that our schools remain soft targets for terrorists and kidnappers,” he said. “Nigerians deserve answers.”
The initiative was conceptualised as a multi-stakeholder partnership involving the Nigerian Government, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, the Global Business Coalition for Education, and private sector partners.
It was structured around: Physical protection of schools, Community-based security interventions and Rapid response and resilience systems
However, lawmakers say many of these components appear stalled or under-implemented in several states.
The investigation follows national outrage over the recent abduction of 25 female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, where bandits also killed a school administrator.
Raising an urgent motion on the attack, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya (APC, Kebbi North) described the incident as “a wake-up call.”
“A nation that cannot secure its children is not worth living in,” he said.
Former Senate President and Chairman of the Committee on Defence, Senator Ahmad Lawan, also pushed for a full audit, stating: “Since schools are still not safe, we must investigate the funds released and how they were utilised.”
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, named the members of the 18-member ad hoc committee, including:
Senators Tony Nwoye, Yemi Adaramodu, Harry Ipalibo, Ede Dafinone, Mustapha Saliu, Diket Plang, Binus Yaroe, Kaka Shehu, Musa Garba Maidoki, among others.
The committee has four weeks to submit a detailed report and recommendations for restructuring the Safe Schools Initiative to better secure the nation’s educational institutions.
VANGUARD.
