Inspector General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, has vowed to pursue with vigor the implementation of the Federal Government’s policy on the Safe School Initiative against security threats across places of learning in the country.

With the full deployment of men and officers of the police force in collaboration with sister security agencies and paramilitary bodies, IGP Egbetokun assured a drastic reduction in the over 10.5 million children displaced from schools due to insecurity.

The security threat became more pronounced with the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools report indicating that between 2012 and 2016, more than 600 teachers were killed in attacks, while more than 19,000 were displaced.

Egbetokun spoke on Monday at the launch of the Federal Government’s Safe School Initiative in Kano and said the police are committed to enabling children affected by conflicts and insecurity to continue with their education unhindered.

Egbetokun, represented by National Coordinator, Safe School Protection, Commissioner of Police Abayomi Shogunle, stressed the plan to establish the first Safe School Response Coordination Centre, which would be replicated across states and local governments to respond to distress calls in schools.

According to the IGP, the measures, when fully deployed, will strengthen security resilience and integrate host communities into the security architecture in the protection of education, as well as enhance the capacity of the school community to protect education.

“The measures will create an effective and efficient national school security and emergency response infrastructure, enhance the capacity of security agencies to gather intelligence, prevent, and respond to attacks on educational institutions, and provide assistance to survivors of attacks on educational institutions,” Egbetokun said.

On his part, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf expressed satisfaction with the Safe School Protection program and assured commitment to providing an enabling environment for full implementation.

Governor Yusuf noted his administration’s readiness to foster an atmosphere conducive to teaching and learning in the state and said that the policy aligned with several programs aimed at accelerating school enrollment.

Represented by Commissioner for Education, Ali Haruna Makoda, the governor said that besides security efforts, the NNPP government has invested huge resources in infrastructure, teaching materials, and uniforms as part of its commitment to the state of emergency declared on education.

In their separate remarks, the Chairman of the League of Ulama in Kano, Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil, public affairs analyst Professor Kamilu Sani Fagge, and others advocated improved funding for the welfare of the police to enable them to discharge their responsibilities in full capacity.

The stakeholders also urged the police to bridge the syndrome of distrust with the public to enhance intelligence gathering, which they believed many members of society may not be willing to provide due to lack of trust.