Inspector General of Police Olatunji Disu has assured parents that the Nigeria Police Force is stepping up efforts to secure schools nationwide as the Police Community Relations Committee begins a Safe School Programme backed by 10,000 volunteers. The programme was officially launched on Thursday at LEA Primary School in Maitama, Abuja, with the initiative expected […]
Inspector General of Police Olatunji Disu has assured parents that the Nigeria Police Force is stepping up efforts to secure schools nationwide as the Police Community Relations Committee begins a Safe School Programme backed by 10,000 volunteers.
The programme was officially launched on Thursday at LEA Primary School in Maitama, Abuja, with the initiative expected to strengthen security around schools through community participation and improved intelligence.
Disu, represented at the event by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Okokon Iniedu, said the police had developed mechanisms that would allow schools to quickly communicate emerging security threats to authorities.
He said the need for the programme had become more pressing because schools and other soft targets, including places of worship, had increasingly come under threat from criminal and terrorist elements.
The initiative will combine police community collaboration with intelligence gathering, CCTV surveillance and rapid response to suspicious activities around educational institutions.
PCRC National Chairman Mogaji Olaniyan said the programme would change the committee’s traditional role by giving its members a greater responsibility in protecting communities.
He said the IGP had directed PCRC members to take their community policing responsibilities beyond supporting police stations and providing vehicles.
Olaniyan announced that 10,000 volunteers would be deployed across the country to work with police personnel, traditional and community leaders, vigilante groups and other stakeholders.
He said rural and remote schools would receive particular attention because of their potential vulnerability to attacks by criminal groups.
The PCRC has already commenced the installation of CCTV cameras, with three cameras being provided by its national body for schools in the FCT and another three from the FCT chapter.
According to Olaniyan, the surveillance system will first be expanded to schools across the six area councils of the FCT before the programme is replicated in other parts of Nigeria.
He called on individuals, organisations and other stakeholders to support the initiative by providing additional CCTV cameras and resources for school security.
Olaniyan said the surveillance equipment would allow authorities to monitor school surroundings during and outside school hours, helping them identify suspicious movements at an early stage.
The programme will also focus on the welfare and safety of teachers, who the PCRC chairman described as an important part of the school security structure.
He said the initiative would go beyond preventing physical attacks by engaging young people on social vices and connecting pupils with accomplished former students who can serve as mentors.
The PCRC plans to link schools with professionals, including lawyers and judges, who can inspire students, encourage positive values and show them the opportunities that education can provide.
Olaniyan said engagements with community leaders, vigilante groups and other stakeholders had already begun ahead of school resumption.
He stressed that protecting schools could not be achieved by the police alone and urged members of communities to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities.
The PCRC chairman said the Safe School Programme would remain a key priority of the committee in partnership with the Nigeria Police Force as efforts continue to improve the safety of Nigeria’s educational institutions.