The Senate has launched an investigation into the Safe School Initiative, expressing outrage that despite heavy funding, policy commitments, and donor support, schools remain vulnerable to attacks, mass kidnappings, and fatal raids.
Chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, disclosed this at the inaugural sitting of the 18-member committee, stating that the upper chamber is determined to uncover why the programme failed to deliver on its core mandate of securing schools across the country.
Statistics show that over 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped and 180 educational facilities attacked since 2014, a situation Kalu described as “unacceptable for a nation committed to educational development and child safety”.
The committee will conduct a comprehensive operational and financial audit, engaging federal ministries, state governments, security agencies, and civil society groups to determine how funds released since 2014 were spent.
The review will cover utilisation of federal and donor funds, deployment and effectiveness of security personnel, early-warning and emergency response systems, and infrastructural upgrades in schools considered most vulnerable.
Kalu stressed that the probe is not designed to victimise any official or agency but to restore credibility to an initiative that has lost public confidence.
The Senate’s action was triggered by renewed anger over the abduction of 25 female students at Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, an attack in which bandits also killed the school’s vice principal.
Lawmakers have demanded clarity on how funds earmarked for school protection have been deployed, with Senator Yahaya Abdullahi describing the incident as “a dirty slap on the face of the nation”.
Former Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, has pushed for a forensic review of the initiative, stating that since schools are still not safe for pupils, the funds released and their utilisation must be investigated.
The committee, chaired by Senator Kalu, is expected to submit its findings in four weeks and is comprised of Senators Tony Nwoye, Yemi Adaramodu, Harry Ipalibo, Ede Dafinone, Mustapha Saliu, Diket Plang, Binus Yaroe, Kaka Shehu, and Musa Garba Maidoki, among others.
