PCRC to mobilise 10,000 volunteers for Safe Schools Initiative

The Police Community Relations Committee has pledged to mobilise 10,000 volunteers to support the Safe Schools Initiative as part of efforts to boost security in schools nationwide.

The organisation also promised to provide CCTV cameras for installation in schools, particularly those located in remote and vulnerable communities.

According to the PCRC, the initiative followed engagements with Parent-Teacher Associations and community leaders and would see the committee collaborate with the police and other security agencies to strengthen safety around school premises.

The National President of the PCRC, Mogaji Olaniyan, disclosed this when the Force Public Relations Officer visited the PCRC National Secretariat in Abuja on Friday.

Olaniyan said, “The PCRC is expanding its Safe Schools Initiative, with plans to mobilise 10,000 volunteers nationwide to work with the Nigeria Police, community leaders and other security stakeholders in protecting schools across the country.

“We would also support by installing CCTV surveillance systems, particularly in schools located in vulnerable and remote communities, to improve security and deter criminal activities.

“We are going to make the job of Nigeria Police and other security agencies simple.”

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The National President also disclosed that the PCRC was constructing a new national headquarters, to be handled by LIVTEC Nigeria Limited, which he said would be completed by December.

He said members had resolved to name the facility after the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, in recognition of his support for community policing.

Speaking at the event, the Force Public Relations Officer, who is also the Secretary-General of the PCRC, CSP Anietie Inyedu, commended the National President for his commitment to the committee’s activities and thanked him for the gesture of providing cameras to Police Public Relations Officers nationwide.

“The national chairman directed that cameras should be given to all my PROs and even my office. We are very grateful,” he said.

The Force spokesman described the Safe Schools Initiative as timely, noting that schools had increasingly become targets for criminal syndicates, and pledged the police’s continued support for the PCRC’s programmes under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police.

The renewed commitment comes amid growing concerns over attacks on schools, particularly in northern Nigeria, where bandits and other armed groups have targeted students and teachers for abduction in recent years.

The Federal Government’s Safe Schools Initiative was introduced to strengthen security in learning institutions, improve emergency response and restore confidence in the education sector following a series of high-profile school kidnappings.