The Nigeria Police Force has assured parents of the safety of children in schools nationwide as the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) begins a Safe School Initiative aimed at strengthening security around learning institutions.
Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu gave the assurance on Thursday during the flag-off of the initiative in Abuja, against the backdrop of concerns over the security of schools and other vulnerable locations.
Disu, who was represented by the Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, said the police had taken responsibility for strengthening security around schools and had developed mechanisms for schools to promptly report emerging threats.
“I want to assure parents that our children are safe. The Nigeria Police Force has taken responsibility for strengthening the security of schools across the country,” he said.
He said the initiative was particularly important amid the increasing targeting of soft targets, including schools and places of worship, by criminal and terrorist elements.
Under the programme, the PCRC is mobilising 10,000 volunteers nationwide to work with the police, community leaders, vigilante groups and other stakeholders to improve security around schools, particularly in rural and remote communities.
PCRC National Chairman, Mogaji Olaniyan, said the initiative followed a directive from the IGP for the committee to move beyond supporting police formations and become more directly involved in community security.
He said the committee was determined to ensure that attacks on schools and teachers were prevented through stronger collaboration between communities and security agencies.
Olaniyan said the PCRC had also commenced the deployment of closed-circuit television cameras to schools, beginning with the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the national body had provided three cameras for schools in the FCT, while the FCT PCRC would provide three additional cameras as part of efforts to expand surveillance across the territory’s six area councils.
According to him, the CCTV deployment is intended to improve monitoring around schools, including during periods when the facilities are not occupied, and help security authorities detect suspicious movements early.
He appealed to individuals, organisations and other stakeholders to support the programme by providing CCTV cameras and other resources required to strengthen school surveillance.
Beyond physical security, Olaniyan said the initiative would also focus on protecting teachers and addressing social vices among young people through sustained engagement with pupils and students.
He said the PCRC would strengthen links between schools and former students who have become professionals, including lawyers and judges, so they can provide mentorship and serve as role models for pupils.
The committee, he added, had begun engaging community leaders, vigilante groups and other stakeholders ahead of the school year, stressing that communities must play an active role in identifying and reporting threats.
“We are not working in isolation. We are engaging community leaders, vigilantes and other stakeholders. If you see something, say something,” Olaniyan said.
The initiative comes days after the police circulated a security alert to formations nationwide over intelligence indicating possible coordinated attacks on vulnerable locations, including schools, places of worship and NYSC orientation camps.
The Force said its Department of Operations had received intelligence on increased mobilisation of terrorist elements and alleged surveillance of potential targets by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province operatives and their local collaborators.
According to the alert, the suspected movements included armed elements travelling from Katsina through Kaduna towards Plateau State, with the possibility that attacks could coincide with the resumption of the 2026/2027 academic session.
The PCRC said the Safe School Programme would therefore remain a sustained security intervention, with community participation, surveillance and early warning forming key components of the effort to protect schools and those who work and learn in them.
