The Federal Government is expanding its Safe Schools Initiative beyond school premises to vulnerable host communities, borderland settlements and riverine areas as part of a broader strategy to protect children and strengthen security around learning centres.
National Coordinator of Financing Safe Schools, Halima Iliya Ibrahim, disclosed this in Jos, Plateau State, on Tuesday while speaking at the fourth National Camp of Man O’ War Nigeria at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Mountain School, Shere Hills.
Ibrahim said the government’s approach was based on the understanding that schools could not be adequately protected without addressing security risks in the communities surrounding them.
“One of the objectives is to cascade it down to the schools, state and community levels to strengthen the resilience of the entire host community because it is our collective responsibility,” she said.
The Federal Government’s 2026–2030 Safe Schools Transition Plan places particular emphasis on vulnerable border and riverine communities, where security challenges can affect children travelling to and from schools.
Ibrahim said schools and communities were being mapped across Plateau State’s three senatorial districts as part of the intervention.
She explained that the exercise would cover the wider environment around schools, including areas that could expose communities to security threats.
“We are mapping out schools across the three senatorial zones to build the resilience of the entire host community, not just the school community,” she said.
The coordinator said borderland communities were receiving particular attention because some threats to schools could originate from outside the immediate community.
She also identified riverine settlements as another area of concern, noting that children in some communities have to travel through waterways to access education.
According to her, the government would work with the Nigeria Immigration Service and other relevant agencies to strengthen security in vulnerable locations.
She added that the involvement of security agencies and the Armed Forces showed that school safety was being treated as a national security issue rather than simply an education-sector responsibility.
The Safe Schools programme was developed in response to repeated attacks on schools and the broader insecurity affecting education in Nigeria.
The National Plan on Financing Safe Schools, launched in December 2022, was designed for implementation between 2023 and 2026, with an estimated investment of about N144.77bn.
The programme has come under renewed scrutiny in recent months following continued attacks and abductions involving schools.
The Senate in July expanded its investigation into the initiative and extended the committee’s mandate to examine other education and social intervention institutions.
The latest government strategy therefore comes amid pressure to demonstrate that funding and policy interventions are producing tangible improvements in school security.
At the Jos event, National Commander of Man O’ War Nigeria, NC Adedamola Gbenga, said the organisation was strengthening its volunteers’ capacity to support safer schools and more resilient communities.
The camp was held under the theme, “Strengthening Community-Based Safe School Framework for a Secure and Resilient Nigeria,” with “Building Safer Schools through Partnership, Preparedness and Collective Responsibility” as its sub-theme.
Gbenga said a major component of the camp was the Safe School Awareness and Preparedness Training for coordinators drawn from across the country.
“We must therefore move beyond simply responding to emergencies. We must become proactive in identifying risks, preventing avoidable incidents and building resilient communities,” he said.
He urged participants to take the training back to their commands and use it to improve preparedness in their communities.
“A trained volunteer can save a life, an informed community can prevent a crisis, and a prepared school can protect its children,” he said.
Gbenga also reaffirmed Man O’ War Nigeria’s commitment to working with government agencies, educational institutions, security and emergency management organisations and development partners.
The expanded approach places community resilience at the centre of school protection, signalling a shift from securing school buildings alone to identifying and addressing threats across the environments where children live, travel and learn.
