Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, NSCDC CG
The federal government and security agencies are on the trails of kidnapped schools’ boys and girls across the country, the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Audi, disclosed this on Tuesday, October 31.
Audi said all security agencies have keyed into the strategy adopted by the federal government to locate the whereabouts of the students who are still missing and ensure their safe returns to their homes.
He spoke at the headquarters of the Corps in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the forthcoming maiden National Summit on Identified Threats and Security Elements Affecting the Safe Schools Project in Nigeria.
He said within the past few months about 48 kidnap attempts and attacks on Schools across the country have been foiled by Security agencies especially in Zamfara and Nasarawa states, while intelligence gathering have been enhanced to further nip such attacks in the bud.
Audi said security agencies would continue to search for the missing Chibok, and Dapchi girls, asserting that neither the government nor Security agencies have abandoned them to their fate.
He said: “I address you today as part of activities preparatory for our first ever National Summit with the theme: “Tackling Identified Threats in the Nigerian Safe Schools Project,” after the flag-off of the implementation of the National Safe Schools Project which was performed on the 13th of February 2023.
“It is no longer news that education is known and described as the bedrock of any society. Globally, unfolding trend of events have however presented serious attacks on education with Nigeria as one of the countries badly affected.
“The abduction of 276 girls in April 2014 from Government Girls Secondary School Chibok in Borno State, 110 girls from Government Girls Science School, Dapchi in Yobe State, Bethel College Kaduna, Government Secondary School Kagara in Niger State and killing of schoolboys in Buni Yadi, Yobe State and Greenfield University Kaduna among other numerous attacks on education can attest to the prevalence of such attacks and consequences on the sector.”
Audi noted that the establishment of the Safe Schools Initiative have significantly reduced the spate of attacks in Schools, stressing that more successes are being recorded across the country as a result of the project.
According to him over 1,800 Security operatives and participants in the Safe Schools Initiative have been trained in the six geopolitical zones of the country on various mechanisms to ensure the safety and security of schools in Nigeria.
Audi expressed the unwavering commitment of Security agencies to bring an end to attacks on education arising from banditry, kidnapping, armed conflict and terrorism, saying the summit would provide opportunity for stakeholders to further brainstorm and strategise on the issues.
He explained that the summit which would begin on Thursday in Abuja at NAF Conference, Kado, would enlighten key relevant stakeholders on the coordination role of the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Center as a product of the financing Safe Schools committed by Nigerian government.
It would also foster a nationwide dialogue that seeks to present systematic reflections and offer practical advice for effective implementation of Safe Schools Project, the CG added.
He said besides the participation of all security agencies in the summit, over 300 other institutions and critical stakeholders are expected at the event.