For nearly a decade, if not more, security in Nigerian schools, especially at the primary and secondary levels, has deteriorated as bandits, insurgents and other criminal elements invade those places at will and abduct innocent pupils and students for ransom. Some of those schoolchildren were actually killed.
The scourge of abduction and invasion of school premises has traumatised students, teachers and communities and has worsened the out-of-school syndrome as parents fear for the safety of their wards.
Still, huge ransoms have been paid by poor parents to secure the release of their children and wards. In some painful instances, some of the children have died in their captors’ den due to torture, starvation and undue exposure to the elements.
The figures from abduction cases are alarming and worrisome. But it is important that we highlight some to emphasise the urgency of the task ahead.
In 2014, 276 Chibok girls were abducted, 2018,110 girls were snatched from their school at Dapchi while 317 were picked up by bandits in 2020 at a school in Katsina.
By 2021, the number of pupils and students abducted by these criminals had risen to 1,183 nationwide. The first half of 2022 saw 1,416 student abductions.
The victims, especially the Chibok girls, experienced psychological trauma, had their education disrupted, were forced into early marriages and unwanted motherhood by these evil elements. By the time some of them regained their freedom, their dreams and aspirations were shattered.
Against this backdrop, we, as a newspaper, welcome the recent launch in Ekiti State of the Police School Protection Squad, which will hopefully provide adequate security in schools.
Curiously, the launch of the squad came almost a year after the inspector-general of police (IGP) gave a hint of the team under the Safe School Initiative. Since then, only the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has embraced it.
It is also on record that at the height of the kidnapping and invasion of schools, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had embarked on a similar scheme, but its visibility and functionality did not go far enough as the criminals continued to have a field day.
The not-too-good results from past initiatives could be attributed to poor preparations, inadequate funding, and a lack of fencing and secure gates, which provided easy access for kidnappers. Insufficient security personnel and the absence of robust intelligence gathering also compounded the situation.
It is interesting to note that Nigeria’s Safe School Initiative has an international angle to it as 118 countries including Nigeria are signatories to it
According to the Police authorities, the programme, an initiative and strategic intervention of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, is geared towards guaranteeing the security of students as well as teachers and ensuring a safe, secure environment in all categories of schools in the country.
With the Police school protection squad’s mandate clearly defined, we ask the authorities to quickly introduce the head of the unit to Nigerians, especially school authorities and other security organisations, to build relationships, strategic engagement, synergy, and accountability.
We further posit that the new squad be weaned out of the old order to avoid its failure and curb bureaucratic bottlenecks and rivalry with other security organisations.
The men and women assigned to the new task must be civil enough to relate well with the beneficiaries of their services. They must not be seen as intimidating or imperial personnel so that the students will not dread them more than even the bandits or insurgents.
Rather than the usual defence and reactions after the criminals have done their harm, this squad must focus on crime prevention and be intelligence-driven.
Also, the squad must leverage community insights and surveillance because it fosters trust through transparency and cooperation.
We also call for rapid response capabilities by adopting advanced communication systems. The squad should learn from global safe school initiatives to strengthen its operations, and partnerships with international experts will enhance its capacity and efficiency.
The government should also allocate adequate resources, funds, and other logistics to the squad to ensure maximum delivery.
Similarly, we canvass regular security drills and simulations to prepare students and staff for any ugly occurrence.
It is our view that states’ current responses to the scheme are unimpressive. That only Ekiti State and FCT have embraced the scheme a year after it was conceived shows the indifference of our leaders, especially governors, to issues that affect ordinary Nigerians.
Therefore, we challenge the remaining 35 states to quickly launch the scheme and fully support it. The security of our children in schools will guarantee a secure future for Nigeria. Protecting educational institutions demands collective responsibility. We urge policymakers, educators and citizens to prioritise school security. Nigeria’s future depends on safeguarding its young ones.
