Senate probes Safe School Initiative amid rising attacks on students

By : John Akubo

Date: 3 December 2025 8:28pm WAT

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Senates in session

Senates in session

The Senate has opened a full-scale investigation into the Safe School Initiative, following repeated attacks on schools and the mass abduction of students across the country.

Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Senator Uzor Kalu, warned that the inquiry would leave no stone unturned. “Since 2014, more than 1,680 children have been kidnapped, and 180 schools attacked,” he said. “It is unacceptable that schools remain soft targets despite years of funding and policy frameworks.”

The committee will conduct a thorough financial audit and summon ministers, state governors, and civil society actors to explain operational lapses. “Every naira and every dollar spent on this program will be accounted for,” Kalu said. “We need answers on why our schools remain vulnerable despite enormous investment and global attention.”

The probe will also review the deployment of security personnel, early warning systems, and school infrastructure upgrades. Kalu stressed that the investigation is aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability, not assigning blame. “Parents deserve assurance that their children’s education is safe. We will not rest until schools are truly secure,” he said.

Launched in May 2014 after the Chibok schoolgirls abduction, the Safe School Initiative is a partnership between the Nigerian government, the UN, and private sector organisations. Initial funding of $10 million grew to over $30 million by 2021, with ₦144 billion earmarked from 2023–2026. The Senate’s action comes as insecurity surges, particularly in northern Nigeria, where schools remain frequent targets for kidnappers and terrorists.

In other news, chaos broke out in the Senate on Wednesday after lawmakers fiercely disagreed over whether Defence Minister–designate, General Christopher Musa (rtd.), should be grilled on Nigeria’s spiralling insecurity or “take a bow and go.”

Gen. Musa, a former Chief of Defence Staff, appeared for screening shortly after 2 p.m., accompanied by presidential advisers and retired top officers. Senate President Godswill Akpabio welcomed him and urged him to help confront the nation’s deepening security crisis. A dramatic moment unfolded when Senator Sani Musa suggested the nominee should be allowed to “take a bow and go,” but Senate President Godswill Akpabio sharply rejected the proposal.

His motion triggered the uproar when he asked the chamber to skip questioning entirely, arguing that the nominee had already been scrutinised in 2023.

Dozens of senators immediately backed the motion, chanting, “Let him take a bow and go!” Others shouted back in protest, insisting the nominee must answer hard questions. The chamber quickly dissolved into a shouting match as senators crowded around the presiding officer.

But the Senate President rejected the calls for ‘Bow and Go’. “Where are the children? How can he take a bow and go? Where is Brigadier General Uba? Where are the children kidnapped while soldiers withdrew? Nigerians want answers,” Akpabio said.

The chamber roared in approval as Akpabio insisted the nominee address pressing national security failures.

A visibly irritated Akpabio rose from his seat to restore order and invoked Order 52. He rejected attempts to shield the nominee from scrutiny.

“If he takes a bow and goes, how will General Uba be found? How will the children in the forest be found?” he asked pointedly.

He warned senators against politicising the process and ruled that Gen. Musa must respond to all questions related to insecurity, directing lawmakers to proceed with the interrogation.

Akpabio also revealed that the Senate has begun designating kidnapping as a terrorist act, carrying the death penalty without an option of fine, specifically to strengthen the incoming minister’s legal arsenal.

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