A fresh storm has erupted over Nigeria’s Safe Schools Initiative as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) demanded a forensic investigation into billions of naira committed to securing schools, amid reports that at least 65 schools across northern Nigeria have been shut or rendered non-functional because of insecurity.
The rights group in a statement by its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko described the situation as an “embarrassing national failure”, asking how terrorists, bandits and kidnappers could still be deciding whether Nigerian children attend school more than a decade after the Safe Schools Initiative was launched.
HURIWA’s question is blunt:
Where did the Safe Schools billions go?
The organisation said the contradiction between massive financial commitments and the worsening reality in schools can no longer be dismissed as another consequence of insecurity.
It cited the Federal Government’s National Plan on Financing Safe Schools for 2023–2026, which projected ₦144.86bn for the programme over the four-year period.
The projected allocation comprises ₦32.58bn for 2023, ₦36.98bn for 2024, ₦37.15bn for 2025 and ₦38.03bn for 2026.
HURIWA also recalled reports that more than $30m had been mobilised for the initiative since its creation.
Yet the result, it said, is a growing number of classrooms being abandoned because the government cannot guarantee the safety of pupils and teachers.
In Sokoto State alone, HURIWA said schools in 20 of the state’s 23 local government areas have reportedly been shut indefinitely over security concerns.
The rights group said the figures raise questions that demand hard answers.
Who received the money?
Who administered it?
What contracts were awarded?0
How much was actually released?
What security infrastructure was delivered?
How many schools were secured?
And who is accountable for the gap between the money committed and the schools still too dangerous to open?
HURIWA has now called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to launch a joint forensic investigation into the initiative.
The group wants investigators to trace every naira and every dollar allocated, released or donated to the programme.
It demanded that the investigation establish what was budgeted, what was released, who received the funds, what contracts were executed, which projects were delivered and what happened to unspent or outstanding allocations.
HURIWA said anyone found to have diverted funds, inflated contracts, abandoned projects or abused money meant to protect children must be prosecuted.
It also turned its fire on the National Assembly, asking lawmakers to explain why the Safe Schools Initiative has not been subjected to sustained public scrutiny despite the worsening crisis.
The organisation challenged both chambers to summon the relevant ministers, government agencies, programme managers and contractors for a public hearing.
For HURIWA, the stakes extend far beyond the closure of classrooms.
Every day a child remains out of school, it warned, increases exposure to child labour, trafficking, early marriage, radicalisation and recruitment into criminal or extremist networks.
The group said Nigeria cannot claim to be winning the war against insecurity while insecurity is simultaneously destroying the country’s education system.
It called for an emergency national intervention involving the Federal Ministry of Education, state education ministries and the FCT authorities, including stronger security deployment, intelligence-led protection of vulnerable schools, safe transportation, emergency learning centres and better protection for teachers.
HURIWA also demanded independent monitoring of high-risk schools and insisted that any recovered funds should be ring-fenced exclusively for securing and rebuilding affected schools.
The group called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally order a comprehensive audit of the Safe Schools Initiative and make the findings public.
In its strongest warning, HURIWA said Nigerian children must not become victims twice—first to terrorists and bandits, and then to corruption and official impunity.
The Safe Schools Initiative was created to keep children in classrooms. HURIWA now wants government to explain why, despite billions earmarked for that mission, fear is still keeping them out.