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Speech by the Commissioner of Police Schools Protection Squad (SPS) Force Headquarters Abuja, delivered during the Nigeria Police Stakeholders’ Forum on the Security of Schools and other Learning Environment in Lagos State
Speech by the Commissioner of Police Schools Protection Squad (SPS) Force Headquarters Abuja, delivered during the Nigeria Police Stakeholders’ Forum on the Security of Schools and other Learning Environment in Lagos State held on Monday 30th June, 2025
Protocol
I warmly welcome all of us to today’s important event. The security and safety of our schools and other learning environments continue to attract the attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria. In recent years, Nigeria had faced security challenges such as kidnappings, homicide related cases, and destruction of school infrastructure sometimes leading to school closures and negatively affecting the host communities, these incidences can be linked to the increasing numbers of out-of-school children. The National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools in a 2021 report indicated that between 2012 and 2016, more than 600 teachers were killed in attacks, while more than 19,000 were displaced.The Nigerian government, recognizing its responsibility to create a safer and more secured learning environments formally signed the safe school declaration documents on 31st December, 2019 to signal the country’s commitment to its implementation alongside 118 member countries. To further demonstrate the resolve to address the serious challenges posed by conflicts and insecurity to safety of schools, the Federal Ministry of Finance, in consultation with local and global stakeholders, conveyed a high-level forum on 20th April 2021 to address the menace of attacks on education on a holistic and sustainable basis by creating innovative sources of funding through federal, state and local governments.Also, between 25th and 27th October 2021, Nigeria hosted the 4th international Conference on Safe Schools Declaration in Abuja to rally support for the program and assess the progress in achieving various commitments to protect schools and Students from incessant attacks. Furtherance to these activities, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Finance, in active consultation and collaboration with states, local governments and critical agencies of government developed a mid-term national plan on Financing Safe Schools for the period, 2023 to 2026. In December 2022, the Ministers of Finance and Education formally introduced key policy documents, including the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools as well as the Minimum Standard for Safe Schools. In 2024, the Federal Government launched the Safe School Initiative to enable children affected by conflicts and insecurity to continue with their education unhindered. The comprehensive plan which adopts a ‘whole-society approach’ began full implementation in 2023 with the establishment of the first Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre, which is being replicated across all states and local governments for rapid response and information dissemination. I am delighted to inform this gathering that the Nigeria Police Force now have a 24/7 functioning Emergency Centre dedicated to responding to Schools Emergencies – the contact detail is as shown on the back page of this Event Programme booklet. Today’s event, Strengthening Security Resilience and Integration of Host Communities, aligns with the national plan on financing safe schools in Nigeria. The plan has a national investment response aimed at protecting schools, learners, teachers and non-teaching staff from attacks in all parts of Nigeria, and was designed to achieve measurable outcomes such as reducing the numbers of out of school children and improving Nigeria’s rating in the human capital index in the long run.The policy also provides guidelines and a framework for ensuring safe and secured learning environments in schools nationwide. The objectives include:To strengthen security resilience and integrate host communities into the security architecture in the protection of educationTo enhance the capacity of the school communities to protect educationTo create an effective and efficient national school security and emergency response infrastructureTo enhance the capacity of security agencies to gather intelligence, prevent, and respond to attacks on educational InstitutionsTo provide assistance to survivors of attacks on educational Institutions.The implementation of the plan is in phases with eighteen (18) States selected as Pilot states, and we have launched this initiate in those states. Your Excellency, considering the strategic importance of Lagos state in Nigeria’s educational and economic development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, approved that Lagos state be also included in this first phase, hence the hosting of this Stakeholders’ Forum in the home-state of the father of the nation and our dear President, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.The right to education is central to social and economic progress, and investment in education is an investment in human capital development. These policies, programmes and activities are in line with the current administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the mandate of the Nigeria Police Force to protect lives and property, which IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, is vigorously pursuing.As we commence this important deliberation, I wish us all a successful outcome.
Thank you for your attention.
CP (Dr.) Abayomi Shogunle, fsi