Nigeria cannot build safe schools in unsafe communities

The rescue of 39 pupils and six teachers from captivity in Nigeria's Oyo State has exposed persistent vulnerabilities in the country's school safety framework more than a decade after the Chibok abduction prompted major reforms. The students and teachers, seized from three schools in May, spent 56 days in captivity before security forces secured their release.

The 2014 Chibok incident, in which Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls, catalyzed the creation of the Safe Schools Initiative in May 2014. The program initially covered 500 schools in northeastern states and has since expanded to encompass all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The framework includes perimeter fencing, access control systems, security personnel, early-warning mechanisms, and support services for displaced students.

Despite these measures, the initiative has fallen significantly short of its objectives. According to Nigeria's National Plan on Financing Safe Schools, over 42,000 primary and secondary schools in northern Nigeria lack perimeter fencing. In June, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project raised allegations of fund mismanagement or diversion within the 145-billion-naira financing plan. The Nigerian House of Representatives subsequently ordered a comprehensive assessment of the initiative's implementation and fund utilization.

School attacks and student abductions have persisted throughout the initiative's operation. Media records indicate at least 603 students and teachers have been abducted by armed groups since 2014. Analysts argue that protecting school grounds alone cannot ensure student safety while broader community security remains compromised.