The Senate on Tuesday broadened its investigation into the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI), extending the probe to key education and social intervention agencies, including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).
Lawmakers also granted the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the initiative an additional three weeks to conclude its assignment, saying a wider inquiry had become necessary to fully assess the management of education-related intervention funds and student welfare programmes.
The resolution followed a motion moved by the committee chairman, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North), under Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2026 (as amended).
Presenting the motion, Kalu said the committee’s preliminary findings showed that the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative was closely linked to several agencies responsible for education financing, student support and humanitarian interventions.
According to him, investigating the programme in isolation would leave critical gaps in the Senate’s oversight.
“The issues surrounding student security, educational infrastructure funding and social intervention schemes for vulnerable learners across the country are deeply interwoven. Investigating the Safe Schools Initiative without reviewing these complementary bodies will result in fragmented legislative oversight,” he said.
He explained that the expanded mandate would enable the committee to produce a comprehensive report capable of strengthening accountability, improving transparency and ensuring that intervention funds achieve their intended objectives.
Under the new terms of reference, the committee will examine financial flows, operational challenges and accountability mechanisms across the Safe Schools Initiative and the affected agencies.
It will also review allocations for school feeding programmes, emergency assistance for displaced students and educational rehabilitation projects implemented through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and NSIPA.
The investigation will further cover TETFund’s security and infrastructure interventions in tertiary institutions, NELFUND’s loan disbursement processes, administrative efficiency and student access framework, as well as UBEC’s interventions in the basic education sector.
Kalu told lawmakers that the committee required additional time because some critical aspects of the investigation, including planned visits to key locations, had yet to be completed.
“We’re supposed to submit our report, and there are four key areas that were not done. I needed the permission of the Senate so that we can conclude it in the next two or three weeks and come back with a report,” he said.
Following a voice vote conducted by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, senators unanimously approved the request, granting the committee a three-week extension.
The Senate inaugurated the probe in December 2025 following renewed concerns over persistent attacks on schools despite years of funding and policy interventions aimed at protecting educational institutions.
The investigation gained added urgency after the abduction of 25 female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, during which the school’s vice principal was reportedly killed.
Established in 2014 after the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, the Safe Schools Initiative was conceived as a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations and private sector stakeholders to improve security infrastructure in schools, particularly in conflict-affected communities.
During previous investigative hearings, the Senate questioned the utilisation of ₦15 billion released for the initiative in 2023. The committee disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force received the largest allocation of ₦6.225 billion, followed by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (₦3.362 billion), Defence Headquarters (₦2.250 billion) and the Federal Ministry of Education (₦519 million).
The lawmakers also queried alleged financial irregularities, consultancy payments and expenditure patterns under the programme, directing the Safe Schools Financing Office to provide a detailed reconciliation of funds released, contractors engaged and supporting documents relating to the Central Bank of Nigeria Trust Fund account.
The National Coordinator of Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria, Hajiya Halima Iliya, had earlier informed the committee that the initiative attracted funding from both domestic and international partners, including the Federal Government, Nigerian private sector leaders, the African Development Bank, the German and Norwegian governments, UNICEF, USAID, the Qatar Foundation and other United Nations agencies.
With its expanded mandate, the committee is expected to determine whether education and humanitarian intervention funds are being efficiently deployed and whether existing programmes are effectively addressing the safety, welfare and educational needs of Nigerian students.