By Jimmy Fatunbi
Security agencies have intensified surveillance around schools, NYSC orientation camps, places of worship and other vulnerable locations following intelligence of plans by terrorists to launch coordinated attacks across the country.
The Nigeria Police Force, in a security alert circulated to formations nationwide, said the planned attacks could coincide with the resumption of the 2026/2027 academic session.
According to the alert, intelligence available to the Department of Operations indicated an “increased mobilisation of terrorist elements for possible coordinated attacks” on schools, places of worship, NYSC orientation camps and other vulnerable targets.
The communication was circulated to Assistant Inspectors-General of Police overseeing Zones 1–17, Mobile Police formations, counter-terrorism units and other specialised formations, as well as Commissioners of Police across the states.
It was also copied to various departments at Force Headquarters, including Intelligence, the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Research and Planning, Information and Communication Technology, Training and Development, Finance and Administration, and the Force Security Department.
The police said intelligence had also indicated the movement of armed elements from Katsina through Kaduna towards Plateau State.
The alert further disclosed that suspected Islamic State West Africa Province operatives and their local collaborators were conducting surveillance and reconnaissance of potential targets.
The police described the threat to schools as particularly concerning, given the possibility that attacks could coincide with the reopening of schools for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The Department of Operations consequently directed commands and formations to strengthen security around schools, places of worship, NYSC camps and other vulnerable locations.
“All personnel should maintain heightened vigilance and report suspicious persons, vehicles, movements or objects through established channels,” the police said.
Commanders were directed to intensify intelligence-led surveillance, patrols, stop-and-search operations, access control and rapid-response arrangements around identified vulnerable locations.
Commissioners of Police were also ordered to tighten security at state borders, entry and exit routes and other critical approaches to prevent the infiltration and movement of armed elements.
The Defence Headquarters said it was monitoring the situation.
“We are monitoring the situation,” the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, said.
NSCDC strengthens intelligence network
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps also said it had doubled its intelligence network across its state commands to protect schools and other learning institutions.
Speaking on security arrangements for the reopening of schools, the NSCDC spokesperson, Babafemi Afolabi, said intelligence-driven operations involving federal and tactical squads had thwarted more than 100 attempted attacks on schools.
Afolabi said the Commandant-General had briefed state commandants and directed personnel to remain vigilant.
“All tactical squads, officers, and men of the Corps in different state commands—the Commandant General has already briefed them through their commandants. So, now that schools have resumed, they’ve doubled their intelligence network, and I’m very sure that nothing of such will happen,” he said.
He urged parents who were apprehensive about sending their children back to school to allow them to resume, while calling for closer cooperation between communities and security agencies.
“I would advise parents and their wards to just let them free to go to school. Nothing of such will happen. That’s why we’ve been able to work in collaboration with other stakeholders, even the community leaders,” he said.
Afolabi stressed that security was a collective responsibility and urged residents to promptly report suspicious activities in their communities.
He added that the NSCDC was working with private security personnel across the country to strengthen intelligence gathering.
“Not only Civil Defence are doing this; we work together with other sister agencies, and also the private guards. We have millions of them all over the federation,” he said.
Ex-police, DSS chiefs urge vigilance
Former Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Ali Amodu, and former Director of the Department of State Services, Mike Ejiofor, also urged residents and security agencies to heighten vigilance following the alert.
Amodu said issuing security alerts was part of the responsibility of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to gather and share information capable of preventing attacks.
He urged Nigerians not to take such warnings lightly, saying citizens should remain alert and report suspicious activities to the authorities.
“Security is everybody’s business. I must be very frank with you, over the years, we Nigerians have taken things for granted. It is now dawning on us that there is a need for us to be very cautious in what we do and to be alert,” Amodu said.
The former police chief specifically urged residents to report strange persons, suspicious vehicles and unusual movements, particularly around worship centres.
He also noted that with the 2027 general elections approaching, there was a need for increased vigilance.
Ejiofor similarly urged security agencies and citizens to act on preventive intelligence to ensure that people were not caught unawares.
“If you get such an advisory, we should take it seriously so that people are not caught unawares,” he said.
He stressed that preventing terrorist attacks required cooperation among the military, police, intelligence agencies, governments and citizens.
“Now that we have preventive information, we should be sitting up. All of us—the military, the police, the state government, the Federal Government—everybody must be involved. But most importantly, the people must be security conscious,” Ejiofor said.
He encouraged residents to embrace the principle of “see something, say something” by promptly reporting suspicious activities to security agencies.
Parents express fears
Amid the heightened security concerns, parents have expressed fears about sending their children back to school.
The National Secretary of the Uche Onyia-led faction of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, Ibrahim Nabayi, said many parents were worried about the safety of their children and called on governments at all levels to urgently strengthen security around schools.
“Parents are worried now, parents are scared of sending children back to school,” Nabayi told The PUNCH on Monday.
He urged the government to deploy all available resources to address security challenges around learning institutions.
Nabayi also advocated the deployment of technology capable of detecting potential threats around schools, suggesting that surveillance systems should monitor activities within a five-kilometre radius of schools.
He said many schools remained vulnerable because existing security personnel might be unable to repel heavily armed attackers.
“All our schools are porous. The kind of ammunition these guys move around with is more than what the security guards in the schools have. They cannot contain them until there’s intervention of a superpower,” he said.
Nabayi recalled that the present Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, introduced the Safe School Initiative while serving as Chief of Defence Staff, under which schools were mapped for improved surveillance, coordination and rapid response.
He said the association reminded the minister about the initiative during a courtesy visit about three months ago and that the minister pledged that the Federal Government would strengthen the programme.
Nabayi called for greater collaboration among security agencies, communities and parent-teacher associations, stressing that residents should promptly report suspicious activities around schools.
“We want synergy between the government and the communities where schools are located. Security is not the responsibility of the government alone,” he said.
Calls to relocate pupils from high-risk areas
On whether schools in areas considered particularly vulnerable should be temporarily closed, Nabayi said that could be the best option in some circumstances.
However, he advocated relocating pupils in high-risk communities to safer schools rather than shutting down education completely.
He cited a previous situation in Kaduna State where vulnerable pupils were transported to safer locations to enable them to sit their examinations before being returned to their parents.
“I think instead of closing down schools, they transfer to the nearby schools that are safer and more reliable in terms of security. It’s a dynamic approach,” he said.
Nabayi warned that prolonged school closures could further disadvantage children, especially those without access to online learning facilities.
He also called for the Federal Government to involve PTAs and other critical stakeholders in efforts to protect schools and sensitise communities.
According to him, NAPTAN had previously conducted sensitisation programmes for school administrators, pupils and other stakeholders on ways to mitigate security threats but suspended the initiative because of inadequate funding.
He expressed concern over the current state of the Safe School Initiative and urged the government to revive and properly implement the programme.
“The most unfortunate thing in this country is the somersault in policy decision-making. And the issue of the Safe School Initiative—we have been clamoring for the Safe School Initiative right from the attack on the Chibok girls,” Nabayi said.
He further urged the government to use technology to monitor activities around schools and establish systems capable of detecting suspicious movements and alerting a central monitoring centre.
Nabayi said NAPTAN was willing to partner with the government to educate pupils and communities on identifying and reporting potential threats.
“For parents who are apprehensive, it is a genuine fear, and I respect that. I cannot send my child where he is not safe,” he said.
He urged the government to “dust off and implement properly” the Safe School Initiative and called for an independent assessment of its implementation across schools.
“Once the government can create a safe environment, education thrives. When there is fear, nothing can be learned,” Nabayi said.
Previous attacks heighten concerns
The latest security alert comes against the backdrop of previous attacks and abductions targeting schools and other public institutions.
In May 2026, dozens of students and teachers were abducted in separate attacks on schools.
On May 15, armed men reportedly attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, abducting 49 pupils, teachers and a toddler. A mathematics teacher was also killed while in captivity.
The Department of State Services had also alerted Muslim and Christian leaders in Osun State to an alleged plan by terrorists to attack places of worship and other public gathering centres ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Security agencies have consequently urged residents, school authorities, religious leaders and community members to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious persons, movements and objects to the appropriate authorities.
