By Joy Odor, Abuja
Nigeria’s troubled Safe School Initiative has exploded back onto the national stage, as the Senate on Wednesday unleashed a sweeping probe into the mysterious collapse of the $30 million programme meant to shield schools from terrorists and kidnappers, a failure now measured in shattered classrooms, abducted children and public outrage.
In a dramatic move that signals the gravity of the investigation, the Senate’s Ad-hoc Committee summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, alongside a powerful line-up of key officials, to appear before it next Tuesday to account for the fate of billions committed to school security.
Also ordered to face the Committee are the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa; the Minister of Defence, Lt.-Gen. Christopher Musa; the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Mohammed Abubakar Audi; as well as representatives of school proprietors across the country.
The Committee, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North), took the decision at its inaugural meeting after adopting its work plan, setting the stage for what promises to be one of the most far-reaching accountability hearings in recent years.
Addressing journalists after the session, Senator Kalu delivered a blistering verdict on the state of school safety in Nigeria.
“Since 2014, more than 1,680 schoolchildren have been kidnapped and at least 180 schools have been attacked. This is unacceptable in any country that claims to value education and the future of its children,” he declared.
With a hard gaze fixed on the trail of public funds, Kalu vowed that the Senate would follow the money without fear or favour.
“We will track every naira and every dollar allocated to the Safe School Initiative including the $30 million mobilised between 2014 and 2021, as well as the recent N144 billion released by the federal government,” he said.
“Despite enormous investments and global support, our schools are still soft targets. Nigerians deserve to know why.”
The Senate probe will dig into both financial flows and operational breakdowns behind the failed project that was once touted as Nigeria’s frontline defence against school attacks.
According to Kalu, the investigation will focus on five critical pillars:
How funds allocated to the initiative since 2014 were utilised;
The deployment and real-world effectiveness of security personnel;
The presence or absence of early warning and emergency response systems;
Infrastructure upgrades in vulnerable schools;
Partnerships with international donors and private-sector contributors.
He stressed that the inquiry is not a witch-hunt against individuals or agencies but a national duty to restore credibility, transparency and public confidence.
“We owe Nigerian parents the assurance that their children can go to school without fear of being kidnapped,” he said.
The Senate’s action follows fresh waves of public anger triggered by new kidnappings, including the abduction of 25 female students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, and over 200 pupils seized from St. Mary Catholic School in Niger State.
These attacks have reignited painful questions about what happened to the billions supposedly spent to harden schools, train responders and build early warning systems.
Instead, communities across northern Nigeria continue to bury victims, pay ransoms and watch classrooms turn into crime scenes.
Next Tuesday’s appearance of Nigeria’s top finance, education and defence officials before the Senate is shaping up as a major test of political accountability.
For parents, teachers and students across the country, the central question is brutal and direct: How did $30 million and N144 billion disappear while children remained exposed?
As the probe unfolds, the fate of the Safe School Initiative may finally be decided not in glossy policy documents, but under the harsh floodlights of legislative scrutiny.
And for the officials summoned, the message from the Senate is unmistakable: Explain the money. Explain the failure. Or face the consequences.
