The Senate has revealed that not less than 1,680 schoolchildren have been abducted in Nigeria and about 180 school facilities attacked since the 2014 Chibok incident, raising serious concerns over the effectiveness of the Safe School Initiative (SSI). The AdHoc Committee chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu criticized the programme’s inability to protect schools despite over $30 million invested, leading to the summoning of the Ministers of Finance, Education, and Defence, alongside security chiefs and school proprietors.
Kalu said, “It is unacceptable that our schools remain soft targets for terrorists and kidnappers… We will track every naira and every dollar allocated to the Safe School Initiative.” The committee will conduct a full financial and operational audit to uncover why schools remain unsafe, stressing that the probe aims to enhance transparency, especially following the recent abduction of 25 female students in Kebbi State.