Questions continue to mount regarding the status of roughly N144 billion, equivalent to $30 million, earmarked for the Safe Schools Initiative. The Nigerian Senate launched an inquiry in December 2025 to determine how these funds were managed following a persistent wave of abductions targeting students. Under constitutional oversight powers, an 18-member ad hoc committee led by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has been tasked with auditing the initiative, which began in 2014.
During investigations, the National Coordinator of Financing Safe Schools, Hajia Halima Iliya, revealed how N15 billion released in 2023 was distributed. The Nigeria Police Force received N6.225 billion, the NSCDC obtained N3.362 billion, the Defence Headquarters was allocated N2.250 billion, and the Federal Ministry of Education was granted N519 million. Concerns were raised by committee members regarding the high proportion of funds spent on consultancy and administrative costs, with Senator Oluranti Idiat Adebule noting that such expenses seemed disproportionate to actual project execution.
The probe uncovered that no specific allocations for the initiative were included in the 2024 or 2025 budgets. Additionally, lawmakers expressed skepticism regarding the transparency of financial submissions provided to the panel. As the investigation remains ongoing, the urgency for results has increased following recent kidnappings of teachers and pupils in Oyo State in May 2026. The Senate has mandated a full audit and a detailed breakdown of all contractors and expenditures to understand why these massive investments have yet to secure a safe environment for Nigerian students.