The Northern Christian Youth Professionals has expressed alarm over renewed attacks on schools in northern Nigeria despite more than $20m reportedly committed to the Safe Schools Initiative.
In a statement on Saturday, the group questioned the visibility and effectiveness of the initiative and its partnership with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Its chairman, Isaac Abrak, said the recent killings and mass abductions in Kebbi and Niger states had raised fresh concerns about the initiative’s capacity to protect vulnerable schools.
NCYP recalled that after the abduction of over 200 pupils in Kuriga, Kaduna State, it urged President Bola Tinubu to recruit local residents into the proposed Forest Guard to secure schools in remote and forest-fringed communities.
Although the initiative later announced a partnership with the NSCDC, NCYP said the renewed attacks showed little evidence of its impact.
The group asked what preventive or responsive actions were taken before or during the attacks on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, and St. Mary’s School in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.
It noted that several people were killed and dozens of children abducted in the incidents.
NCYP said more than $20m had been pledged or donated to the Safe Schools Initiative since its creation after the 2014 Chibok abduction, including contributions from the private sector, the Federal Government, USAID, Qatar, and a Federal Executive Council-approved boost.
The organisation therefore demanded a comprehensive public report detailing activities, states covered, expenditure, implementing partners, contracts awarded, and monitoring and evaluation outcomes.
According to the group, transparency had become urgent following renewed donor interest in school-safety programmes.
It urged President Tinubu to fully implement the Forest Guard scheme, insisting that only community-rooted security structures could secure rural schools effectively.
NCYP also called on the United States Government to support Nigeria’s efforts to build community-driven defence units capable of tackling violent groups operating from forests.
The statement added that Nigeria could not continue losing children to terrorists and insisted that the Safe Schools Initiative must provide answers and realign its strategies.
NCYP reaffirmed its commitment to promoting community-based solutions to protect schoolchildren, especially girls, in vulnerable northern communities.