Former Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro, has renewed his advocacy for the creation of specialised security units to protect schools across Nigeria, arguing that such a strategy could play a crucial role in preventing the recurring abduction of students.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE Television on Saturday, the former police chief said the idea was first proposed more than a decade ago but was never implemented, a development he believes contributed to the vulnerability of schools to attacks by criminal groups.
Okiro disclosed that he submitted the proposal to the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012, recommending the establishment of dedicated security squads for Federal Government colleges and other vulnerable educational institutions nationwide.
“In 2012 I proposed a special squad for all Federal Government Schools. But the government did not implement it. If my proposal was implemented, abduction of school children would not have been easy,” he said.
According to him, the failure to act on the recommendation exposed schools to significant security threats and left many institutions without adequate protection against attacks and mass kidnappings.
Reflecting on subsequent events, Okiro linked the non-implementation of the proposal to the 2014 abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, one of the most notorious incidents involving students in Nigeria’s history.
“If my proposal was implemented, the Chibok girls may not have been abducted easily,” he lamented.
The former police boss explained that the proposal resurfaced years later when former President Muhammadu Buhari invited him in 2018 to revisit strategies for improving security around schools following renewed concerns over attacks on educational institutions.
He noted that discussions focused on developing a comprehensive framework that would strengthen security architecture in schools through specialised personnel, improved infrastructure and emergency response mechanisms.
Okiro revealed that one of the major recommendations contained in the proposal was the construction of secure perimeter fencing around schools to restrict unauthorised access and provide an additional layer of protection for students and staff.
Despite renewed interest in the initiative, he expressed disappointment that implementation remained slow, leaving many schools exposed to security risks.
He also disclosed that consultations were held with education authorities on the need to equip teachers with basic security awareness and emergency response skills.
According to him, training programmes for teachers would help improve preparedness and enable school personnel to respond more effectively during security incidents.
The former Inspector-General pointed out that Nigeria currently has about 103 Federal Government colleges spread across the federation, stressing that securing such institutions requires a coordinated national strategy backed by adequate funding and political commitment.
Beyond school security, Okiro weighed in on the growing debate over state policing, expressing support for ongoing efforts to decentralise policing in Nigeria.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for initiating discussions on state police, noting that his position on the issue had changed after years of observing the country’s evolving security challenges.
“Initially I was against it. But later I realised its importance,” he said.
Explaining his shift in perspective, Okiro argued that the security challenges confronting different parts of the country vary considerably, making a centralised policing structure less effective in responding to local realities.
“The type of crimes that are being committed in Rivers or in Edo State are different from the ones that are being committed in Borno or in Zamfara State,” he said.
According to him, state governments are often better positioned to understand the peculiar security threats within their jurisdictions and can therefore design more targeted responses to tackle crime.
“Governors of each state know the type of crime being committed in his state. So, he knows what step to take to curtail such crime,” he added.
Okiro maintained that strengthening school security and advancing police reforms should remain key priorities for government at all levels,.
He stressed that proactive measures were essential to protecting lives, safeguarding educational institutions and addressing the country’s complex security challenges.
