30 States Yet To Implement Safe Schools Initiative As Kidnappings Surge Nationwide

Launched in May 2014 in the aftermath of the Chibok abduction, the initiative was backed by a $10m seed fund and later expanded into a multi-donor trust arrangement coordinated with the United Nations. The programme was designed to protect education spaces from violence, secure school infrastructure, and strengthen early-warning systems nationwide.

Over the years, Nigeria has signed and ratified the Safe Schools Declaration, hosted the 4th Global Conference in Abuja, and adopted the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools (2021). A ₦144.8bn financing plan (2023–2026) now anchors federal, state and donor commitments.
Yet, according to officials, only a small portion of the required funding has been released, with state-level participation trailing far behind expectations.

Fresh Attacks Lay Bare Deepening Vulnerabilities

The consequences were visible this month.
On November 17, armed men stormed Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, killing the vice-principal and abducting 24 students. The girls were freed days later.

Just four days after, St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, suffered one of the largest school kidnappings in years: 303 students and 12 teachers were taken despite earlier intelligence reports and government orders to close vulnerable schools.

Many northern states have since shut down schools again as fear spreads.

States Lag Behind, Offices Inactive, Centres Unfurnished

An official privy to the programme’s internal assessment—who spoke anonymously—listed the 30 states that have failed to fund or launch their Safe Schools structures. They include:

Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

Meanwhile, although the FCT, Benue, Nasarawa, Katsina, Rivers and Enugu have donated buildings for coordination centres, the facilities are still bare—no gadgets, no surveillance systems, no control-room equipment.

Jigawa stands out as the only state with a fully equipped centre, though it remains inactive.

Last week, the National Safe Schools Response and Coordination Centre confirmed that 11,550 schools have been mapped and registered on its monitoring platform. But the Commander, Assistant Commandant General Emmanuel Ocheja, stressed the need for continuous funding to sustain drone surveillance, command-system upgrades, and expanded early-warning capacity.

Parents, Students, Civil Society Raise Alarm

The wave of abductions has drawn sharp criticism from education stakeholders.

NAPTAN President, Danjuma Haruna, lamented the slow pace of state participation.
NANS, through its Assistant General Secretary, Olatunji Adejuwon, described the non-implementation as “a dangerous neglect” of a national security framework designed to shield the country’s most vulnerable population.

Civil society voices echoed similar concerns.
Reform Education Nigeria’s Programme Director, Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, said it was “unacceptable” that only six states had effectively engaged with the initiative more than a decade after its creation.
Peculiar Caleb, National Moderator of the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All, warned that rising violence against schools contradicts Nigeria’s commitments under the Safe Schools Declaration.

She called for the reopening and securing of the 589 closed schools across the North, and the protection of all 41 federal unity schools.

Kogi Sounds Alarm: Bandits Relocating To State

Meanwhile, Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo raised concerns on Thursday that major bandit commanders had relocated into the state within the last 72 hours.
After an emergency security meeting in Lokoja, Ododo said the government would “take the fight to their hideouts,” insisting that there would be no negotiation or ransom payment.

Public events have now been ordered to end by 4pm daily until further notice.

Rumours of a bandit attack in Lokoja triggered panic earlier in the day, particularly in Zango, Crusher and Felele. But Commissioner for Information Kingsley Fanwo dismissed the reports as “mischief-driven false alarms.”

Traditional rulers, led by the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, HRH Tijani Anaje, also urged residents to avoid circulating unverified information, pledging support for coordinated security operations.

FCT Launches Manhunt For Abducted Teenagers

In the Federal Capital Territory, the police are searching for a 16-year-old boy and six girls abducted from Gidan Bajimi in Bwari Area Council on Wednesday night.

Local vigilantes reportedly engaged the attackers but withdrew due to inferior weapons. The victims, aged 17 to 23, were taken into nearby forests.

The FCT Police Command has yet to officially comment on the development.

Fresh Kidnappings Reported In Niger

In Niger State, police confirmed that 10 people were abducted from Angwan-Kawo and Kuchipa villages in Shiroro LGA on Wednesday evening.
Earlier the same day, attackers reportedly brutalised a blind man in Kakuru community, severing his hand.

Residents in Erena Ward also reported another mass abduction on a rice farm involving up to 24 people, including pregnant women—though details remain unverified.