The Nigeria Police Force has launched a 24-hour Schools Protection Squad (SPS) Command and Control Centre to improve security in schools across the country.
The facility will provide rapid responses to attacks, kidnappings and other threats affecting students, teachers and school communities.
The police unveiled the centre at the Force Headquarters in Abuja under the Safe Schools Initiative.
The command centre operates 24 hours a day and receives reports of attacks on schools and student hostels.
The centre will monitor reports of suspicious movements around school environments and handles complaints involving bullying, harassment, kidnapping and abduction.
Members of the public can also report suspicious persons seen on routes to and from schools.
The police urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report security concerns.
“If you see something, say something, we will do something,” the Force said in a post on X.
The Schools Protection Squad has released a dedicated emergency line.
Members of the public can report incidents through calls or WhatsApp messages on 080-77-35-77-77.
According to the police, trained call handlers remain available at all times and will receive distress calls, coordinate emergency responses and will also work with security teams to ensure swift intervention.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over school safety in Nigeria.
For years, armed groups have targeted schools for attacks and kidnappings.
Many of the incidents involved mass abductions for ransom and many attacks have disrupted learning and forced temporary school closures in several communities.
The school security crisis gained global attention in April 2014 when Boko Haram insurgents abducted 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State.
The incident sparked international outrage and triggered the global “BringBackOurGirls campaign”.
The abduction exposed serious security gaps in schools across northern Nigeria.
Since the Chibok attack, Nigeria has recorded 30 mass school abductions and at least 2,310 students have been kidnapped during that period.
The attacks have affected states including Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi and Borno.
Other affected states include Yobe, Kogi, Nasarawa, Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun and Lagos.
Security experts say the attacks continue to threaten access to education despite Nigeria had signed the Safe Schools Declaration in 2015 which seeks to protect students, teachers and educational institutions during conflicts.
And the Federal Government later expanded the Safe Schools Initiative.
Authorities also introduced a National Plan on Financing Safe Schools worth about ₦145 billion for 2023–2026.
The programme aims to strengthen school security infrastructure and improve early warning systems and community protection measures.
Despite these efforts, attacks on schools continue in some parts of the country.
UNICEF reported in 2022 that insecurity forced the closure of more than 11,500 schools since 2020.
The agency also recorded the abduction of at least 1,436 pupils and 17 teachers during the period.
Education advocates and security experts continue to call for stronger preventive measures.
They say authorities must improve emergency response systems and protect vulnerable schools.
The new SPS Command and Control Centre represents the latest effort to strengthen school security and restore public confidence in the education system.
