THE Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Audi, has ordered the immediate deployment of undercover security agents to schools and host communities in the North-West zone and other parts of the country to protect the schools from attacks by bandits and other criminal elements.
The Commandant also directed the undercover agents to work in synergy with the states ministries of education and other stakeholders in order to achieve the desired result of ensuring safer schools in the country.
He gave the order at the closing ceremony of the capacity building programme for safe schools response team held in Kaduna State on Friday.
Over 200 NSCDC personnel, local vigilantes and other stakeholders drawn from the seven states in the North-West geopolitical zone participated in the five-day special training programme under the safe schools initiative handled by the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre.
The whole idea is against the backdrop of the prevalent cases of attacks and violence on schools in the northern region in particular and its attendant negative impact on schools and host communities such as the increasing rate of out of school children in the country.
The training curriculum reviews the importance of whole- society approach in safe schools project in Nigeria, intelligence gathering mechanism as well as early warning, response mechanism and schools declaration guideline.
The National Strategic Plan on Safe Schools Initiative is also designed to mobilise synergy among security agencies, especially in the areas of evidence-based collaboration, coordination and cooperation.
For a state that has been fatigued by lingering insecurity posed by terrorists and bandits, the Kaduna State Government said it welcomes all partnerships that will bring about peace and security in the state.
The capacity building programme is one in the series of trainings put in place by the national Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre designed to strengthen the resilience of relevant stakeholders towards ensuring adequate protection of schools located in vulnerable communities from attacks by bandits and terrorists.
