By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Senate on Tuesday demanded a sweeping investigation into the more than $30 million expended on Nigeria’s Safe-School Programme, declaring that years of heavy investment had failed to protect children from escalating attacks by terrorists.
Lawmakers also urged President Bola Tinubu to approve the urgent recruitment of 100,000 additional military personnel to tackle the worsening wave of school abductions.
The call was triggered by Monday’s deadly assault on Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State.
The attack left the vice principal dead, a security guard injured, and 25 female students abducted.
The incident provoked outrage across the Red Chamber, where senators unanimously condemned the “repeated targeting of soft spots” and insisted that accountability for the Safe-School Programme could no longer be deferred.
Presiding over the session, Senate President Godswill Akpabio led a sombre review of the attack.
A minute’s silence was observed for the slain vice principal, after which prayers were offered for the safe return of the abducted girls.
Lawmakers later resolved to move into a closed-door meeting to address classified national security issues.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) delivered the session’s most forceful intervention, accusing officials of turning security into a commercial venture.
He said billions allocated at the federal, state, and donor levels had yielded little meaningful protection for schools intended to be beneficiaries of the Safe-School Programme.
He said, “What happened to the money earmarked for this programme? People have turned security into a business. If these funds were properly utilised, terrorists would not still be walking into schools with such ease.”
Oshiomhole cited more than $30 million mobilised between 2014 and 2021, including contributions from Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and other partners, and insisted that the Senate must uncover how the funds were spent.
He further argued that the country’s military was grossly understaffed and called for a recruitment drive of at least 100,000 troops to match Nigeria’s growing population and rising security challenges.
“We simply don’t have enough men and women in uniform to cover this country,” he said.
Akpabio backed the probe, insisting that Nigerians were entitled to complete transparency.
He said, “These criminals are going after soft targets. We must find out why the Safe-School Programme has failed to protect them.”
The debate followed a motion sponsored by Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (PDP, Kebbi North), who described the Kebbi attack as “a slap in the face of our nation.”
He recalled a similar incident in the state in 2022, noting that it took four years for abducted girls to be recovered.
“A country that cannot secure its children cannot fulfil its obligation to its citizens,” he said.
Former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, warned that Nigeria risked “losing an entire generation” if the attacks persisted.
Other senators pressed for greater inter-agency cooperation, deployment of modern tracking technology and renewed engagement with community leaders and traditional institutions to enhance intelligence gathering.
Senator Solomon Lalong questioned the overall impact of the World Bank–backed Safe Schools initiative, while Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger) said the armed forces were overstretched and unable to cover the country’s forests and porous borders.
Senator Francis Fadahunsi lamented what he described as the “disjointed operations” of security agencies and urged stronger coordination and accountability.
Beyond the demand for a massive troop increase, the Senate established an ad hoc committee composed of members of the Committees on Finance, Defence, Army, Air Force, Education and Police Affairs to investigate all appropriations and expenditures linked to the Safe-School Programme.
The committee is tasked with determining why schools remain vulnerable despite years of substantial funding.
Akpabio also cautioned against attempts to frame the Kebbi attack along religious lines.
“Crime is crime. It doesn’t matter under which administration it occurs or who the victims are. We must rescue our girls,” he said.
Security forces have launched a search-and-rescue mission in Kebbi, but senators warned that unless accountability, workforce expansion and technology upgrades are prioritised, Nigeria will continue to witness tragedies of this nature.
The resolutions are expected to feed into discussions at the forthcoming national security summit, where lawmakers and security chiefs will reassess Nigeria’s defence strategy in light of the rising attacks on schools.
