Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has moved to calm the fears of millions of Nigerian parents, declaring that their children are safe in schools across the country and that the Nigeria Police Force has taken full responsibility for strengthening security around educational institutions nationwide. Disu gave the assurance on Thursday, September 17, 2026, during the formal flag-off of the Police Community Relations Committee’s Safe School Initiative at LEA Primary School, Maitama, in the Federal Capital Territory. The programme, which the PCRC described as a practical demonstration of community policing under the current police leadership, will deploy ten thousand volunteers across the country and has commenced the installation of closed-circuit television cameras in schools. The initiative comes against the backdrop of a nationwide security alert warning of possible coordinated attacks on schools and other soft targets by criminal and terrorist elements.
Representing the Inspector-General at the ceremony, the Force Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police Anietie Iniedu, said the police had developed internal warning and response mechanisms to enable schools to alert security authorities to emerging threats quickly. “I want to assure parents that our children are safe,” Disu said through his representative. “The Nigeria Police Force has taken responsibility for strengthening the security of schools across the country. We have developed internal warning and response mechanisms to enable schools to quickly alert security authorities to emerging threats.” The Force Public Relations Officer explained that the programme was particularly important given the increasing targeting of soft targets, including schools and places of worship, by criminal and terrorist elements.
The PCRC National Chairman, Alhaji Mogaji Ibraheem Olaniyan, said the initiative was a direct response to a directive from the Inspector-General that the committee move beyond its traditional role of supporting police formations and become more actively involved in securing communities. “He directed us to go out. You are in charge of your community,” Olaniyan said. “You represent the villages and communities. Together, we want to partner with him to say: never again in this country should there be an attack on our teachers and our schools.” The PCRC chairman disclosed that ten thousand volunteers would be deployed nationwide under the programme, working alongside the police, community leaders, vigilante groups, and other stakeholders. He said the initiative would focus particularly on schools in rural and remote communities, which he described as potentially vulnerable to attacks by criminal elements.
The deployment of surveillance technology forms a central pillar of the programme. Olaniyan revealed that the PCRC had commenced the installation of CCTV cameras, with the national body providing three cameras to support the initiative in the Federal Capital Territory, while the FCT PCRC would provide three additional cameras. The objective, he said, was to expand surveillance coverage to schools across the six area councils of the territory before extending the model nationwide. He appealed to individuals and organisations to support the initiative through the provision of CCTV cameras and other resources. According to him, the cameras would enable security authorities to monitor activities around schools, including when the facilities are not occupied, and facilitate the early detection of suspicious movements.
The initiative also prioritises the protection of teachers and addresses the social dimensions of school security. Olaniyan said the programme would not be limited to physical security but would also tackle social vices among young people through sustained engagement with pupils and students. The PCRC plans to establish stronger links between schools and former students who have become professionals, including lawyers, judges, and other accomplished Nigerians, to serve as mentors and role models. The committee has also commenced engagements with community leaders, vigilante groups, and other stakeholders ahead of the resumption of schools. “We are not working in isolation,” Olaniyan said. “If you see something, say something.”
The Inspector-General’s assurance and the launch of the Safe School Initiative come at a moment of heightened anxiety about the safety of Nigerian schools. On September 14, 2026, the Nigeria Police Force circulated a security alert to its formations nationwide warning of increased mobilisation of terrorist elements for possible coordinated attacks on schools, worship centres, and other vulnerable locations. The alert, signed by the Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector-General, indicated that the attacks could coincide with the resumption of the 2026/2027 academic session. Intelligence available to the Force’s Department of Operations reportedly revealed the movement of armed elements from Katsina through Kaduna towards Plateau State. The alert also warned that informants were spying on schools and other targets.
The alert followed a devastating attack in May 2026, when armed assailants stormed three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, abducting thirty-nine pupils and seven teachers, including a principal. One teacher was killed during the attack. The victims spent fifty-six days in captivity before being rescued by security agencies. Three men were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja for their roles in the kidnapping. The incident exposed the vulnerability of schools in rural and remote areas and prompted a national conversation about the adequacy of security arrangements around educational institutions. The Inspector-General later explained that the rescue operation was deliberately delayed to prevent sensitive information from reaching the kidnappers and to protect the victims’ lives.
The Safe School Initiative is being implemented alongside the Nigeria Police Force’s School Protection Squad, which has been deployed in several states. In Anambra State, the police command deployed personnel to schools and strategic locations as pupils and students resumed for the new academic session, in line with the Inspector-General’s directive. Similar deployments have been carried out in Edo, Ogun, and other states. The programme builds on earlier efforts, including the launch of the Safe School Initiative in Benue State in May 2025 and the establishment of the Schools Protection Squad, which has been trained to use modern technology and intelligence-led policing strategies to enhance proactive law enforcement presence around schools. International partners, including Save the Children, have commended the Nigeria Police Force for its commitment to school protection and community safety.
For parents across Nigeria, the assurance from the Inspector-General offers a measure of reassurance, but it also places a responsibility on communities to remain vigilant. The police have urged school authorities, parents, guardians, and students to report suspicious persons, activities, or security concerns promptly. The success of the Safe School Initiative will depend not only on the deployment of volunteers and cameras but on the willingness of communities to engage with the police and share timely intelligence. The Inspector-General has made his position clear: the Force has taken responsibility for strengthening school security. The coming weeks and months will determine whether that responsibility translates into lasting protection for Nigeria’s children. For now, the message from the police leadership is unambiguous. Nigeria’s schools are not soft targets, and the Force intends to prove it.
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