Senate Probes Safe School Initiative As 1,680 Students Kidnapped Since 2014

By TOSAN OYAKHILOME-AKAHOMEN

THE Senate has revealed that at least 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped and 180 school facilities attacked across Nigeria since the 2014 Chibok abductions. The figures were presented by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee investigating the Safe School Initiative (SSI), chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who said the attacks underscore the programme’s failure despite more than $30 million invested.

The committee has summoned the Ministers of Finance, Education, and Defence, as well as the NSCDC Commandant-General and school proprietors, to explain why schools remain vulnerable. Kalu said the panel will conduct a full financial and operational audit of the SSI, reviewing fund utilisation, security deployments, early warning systems, infrastructure upgrades, and partnerships with donors.

He stressed that the probe aims to ensure accountability, especially after the recent abduction of 25 female students and the killing of a vice principal in Kebbi State raised fresh questions about the initiative’s effectiveness.