The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps’ Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, launched the Safe School Response Team on Thursday, dedicated to safeguarding schools in the North Central region against diverse attacks.
Amid increasing security concerns, the initiative aims to fortify safety measures in educational institutions within the six North Central states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The specialized squad comprises personnel from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Security Services, and others.
Addressing stakeholders in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Audi emphasized the federal government’s commitment to entrust the coordination of this project to the Corps.
He expressed optimism that its execution would mitigate school attacks and reduce the number of out-of-school children in the region.
Audi urged stakeholders to lend their support for the successful implementation of the Safe Schools initiative, facilitating the achievement of security agencies’ objectives.
“The National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre is a product of the National Plan on Safe Schools in Nigeria. The menace of violence and attacks on schools in Nigeria is not a new phenomenon to us. For more than a decade, Nigeria has experienced deliberate targeting of education and destruction of facilities; disrupting schools and keeping children out of school.
“The risk of keeping children out of schools continuously and the consequences thereof can only be imagined. It is in an attempt to address this ugly situation that the Centre was created by the government and domiciled under the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps with the responsibility of coordinating safety and security responses against violence in schools and host communities.
“So far, about 48 cases of planned attacks on schools have been thwarted through the collaborative efforts of the Centre. This workshop is one in the series of several advocacies, awareness creation and sensitization programmes being carried out by the Centre to galvanize support, synergy and collaborations towards tackling the challenge of school attacks and violence which has kept a lot of our children out of schools over a long period,” the NSCDC Commandant General added.
