The senate on Wednesday launched a full-scale investigation into the Safe School Initiative (SSI), signaling growing alarm over the programme’s inability to prevent persistent attacks and mass abductions in schools despite years of funding and policy commitments.
Presiding over the inaugural session, former Abia State Governor and Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, assured Nigerians that the Senate would scrutinize all aspects of the initiative’s implementation and hold responsible parties accountable. He highlighted that more than 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped and 180 educational facilities attacked since 2014, calling the situation “unacceptable for a nation committed to educational development and child safety.”
“It is unacceptable that our schools remain soft targets for terrorists and kidnappers,” Kalu said. “We will track every naira and every dollar allocated to the Safe School Initiative. Nigerians deserve to know why, despite enormous investment and global support, our schools remain unsafe.” He emphasized that the probe is not a witch-hunt but a necessary step to strengthen accountability and protect the nation’s children.
The investigation follows national outrage after the recent abduction of 25 female students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, where bandits also killed the school’s vice principal. During plenary, lawmakers questioned how funds for the Safe School Initiative had been utilized amid continued attacks. Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (APC, Kebbi North), who raised an urgent motion on the incident, described the attack as “a dirty slap on the face of the nation,” stressing that “a nation that cannot secure its children is not worth living in. This is a wake-up call.”
Former Senate President and Chairman of the Committee on Defence, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, also called for a thorough probe, noting that since schools remain unsafe, it is imperative to examine how funds released over the years have been spent.
The 18-member ad hoc committee, constituted by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and chaired by Senator Kalu, includes lawmakers from across the country. The panel has been given four weeks to submit a comprehensive report with recommendations aimed at overhauling the Safe School Initiative.
Launched in May 2014 following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, the Safe School Initiative was designed as a government–UN–private sector partnership to secure schools in high-risk areas. Despite initial funding of $10 million, mobilization of over $30 million between 2014 and 2021, and a federal allocation of ₦144 billion for 2023–2026, attacks on schools have continued, prompting intensified scrutiny.
Senator Kalu reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to “re-engineer” the initiative, insisting that the goal is to make Nigerian schools safe, secure, and conducive for learning. “Nothing short of genuine accountability will suffice,” he said.
The Senate’s findings are expected to play a critical role in reshaping Nigeria’s national approach to school security, potentially influencing policy, funding, and operational reforms to better protect students nationwide.
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