Insecurity: Schools build escape routes

Some schools and churches in the country have stepped up security measures to forestall attacks from suspected terrorists.

Findings by Sunday PUNCH showed that recent attacks compelled some school management to create escape routes, install surveillance cameras and strengthen perimeter fencing.

Our correspondents also gathered that some transport unions restricted night journeys and intensified vigilance at motor parks and along highways.

Schools and places of worship are believed to be vulnerable targets of terrorists.

Schools create escape routes, install CCTV

This comes as the Office of the National Security Adviser, last week, reportedly warned Nigerians to remain vigilant amid potential security threats from terrorist and bandit groups, which could resort to “isolated attacks to create fear” after being dislodged from their enclaves in the north.

The alleged advisory, dated August 27, 2026, according to Vanguard, was circulated to security agencies as part of preventive security measures.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the First Vice-President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Bashir Oyewo, said the union was collaborating with the government and security agencies to strengthen protection for teachers and pupils, particularly in rural communities.

He said the government was also working to reorganise the Safe School Project following recent security concerns.

“We met the Federal Government through the Minister of Education just recently to discuss this matter.

“In all, all hands are on deck and we are collaborating to ensure our schools are safe for our teachers and pupils,” Oyewo said.

The National President of the Parents-Teachers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Hussein Danjuma, told one of our correspondents that the association had engaged additional security personnel in schools to complement government efforts to protect pupils, teachers and school property.

He said the PTA remained actively involved in security at the local, state and national levels, with its various structures working with school authorities to address issues affecting pupils and teachers.

According to him, many schools, particularly those under state governments, lack adequate security personnel, making it necessary for PTAs to provide additional support.

“Most of the schools we have in Nigeria lack security personnel. Most of the schools under the state only have a few security personnel.

“So, in each PTA, we task ourselves by engaging the services of security personnel,” Danjuma said.

A school principal in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, Bolaji Adekoya, told one of our correspondents that escape routes had been created in the school in case of any attack.

He also disclosed that pupils had been sensitised to how to use the route and help their mates in the case of any attack.

“We have erected a gate and created an escape path that was not there before. We should be prepared for anything because of what is happening across the country. Apart from having good perimeter fencing and a gate, we believe the escape route is also needed,” Adekoya said.

A former chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools in Osun State, Alhaja Kojusola Adepoju, told Sunday PUNCH that virtually all private schools in the state had embraced one or two security measures.

The measures, according to her, include mounting surveillance cameras, increasing the height and length of perimeter fencing and hiring local security operatives.

She maintained that all the schools were concerned about the insecurity and, as a result, had been taking proactive steps and bracing up.

“This insecurity matter is deeply concerning and became worrisome after the Oyo abduction. Some of our schools are being fortified as we speak and some had earlier taken security measures.

“We don’t pray for any attack, but at the same time, we are taking steps to protect ourselves. Some schools have mounted security cameras; some have increased the number of their security personnel, and some have added to the size of their perimeter fencing. There are some other steps that we can’t discuss on the phone,” Adepoju said.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, a boarding school proprietor in Ibadan, Oyo State, said he had increased security measures around the school premises.

“It is better to go through the preventive action stress than experience any attacks. I have erected a gate and guard tower. The height of my fence has also been increased because, even if any attacker comes, let the person be stressed and, in doing that, it will slow the process and help will come.

“Apart from that, once we are done with assembly, the school gate remains closed, and you will have to call a dedicated line before it can be opened. We won’t take any chances.

“We also have local security whose main duty is surveillance; mix with people, interact with them, and check what is happening 200 metres away. Those are the measures,” he revealed.

Transporters reduce night trips

The leader of the Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria, Abiodun Akintade, told Sunday PUNCH that the group had advised its members not to set out on any journey before 6am and should also return before 7pm.

According to him, drivers are also conscious of the routes they ply during any trip, saying that it is one of the major steps taken by the association.

“Our drivers don’t go out before 6 am, and they will not be on the road by 7 pm. Any of our members you see on the road at night could be as a result of a faulty vehicle. We have advised them against night journeys,” Akintade said on Thursday.

Also, the National Organising Secretary of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdulrahman Onikijipa, said transport operators had intensified security checks at motor parks and along highways.

He noted that drivers had been advised to avoid unnecessary night journeys and immediately report suspicious persons, vehicles or movements to security agencies.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Onikijipa said, “The national body has directed park chairmen and transport operators across the country to intensify vigilance in all motor parks and on the highways.

“Drivers have been advised to avoid unnecessary night journeys and report any suspicious movement, person or vehicle immediately.”

The Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority is said to have equally devised means of protecting the drivers under it against attacks.

An official of the agency, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on condition of anonymity said, “We have taken steps, but the only thing I can disclose is that we have patrol vehicles which survey all the roads in our jurisdiction.

“Our drivers are always on the road and anytime they suspect anything- movement, people, they will alert us, and we will contact the security agencies immediately. That is to prevent any attack on our people,” he said.

NYSC reviewing posting policy – Source

A senior official of the National Youth Service Corps, who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, claimed that the scheme was considering posting corps members to their states of origin as part of measures to reduce their exposure to security risks.

The official also disclosed that the NYSC had intensified collaboration with the police and the military to provide escorts, patrols and intelligence support along routes used by corps members travelling to their places of primary assignment.

“We are currently reviewing the posting policy of corps members and in due time, we will come out with the decisions. One of the options being considered is posting corps members to their states of origin,” he said.

Efforts to get official comments from the NYSC were unsuccessful as the scheme was said to be in the process of appointing a spokesperson following the retirement of a former Director of Communication, Carol Embu.

Our correspondents learnt that the NYSC had scheduled online registration for prospective corps members in the 2026 Batch C between September 7 and 13, while the date for the commencement of the orientation exercise had yet to be announced.

But the security situation in the country has introduced uncertainty into what should ordinarily be a period of excitement after graduation for prospective corps members.

A fresh graduate of Lagos State University awaiting mobilisation, Femi Emmanuel, told Sunday PUNCH that security concerns had made him reconsider his plans for the mandatory national service.

“Before my final exams, I had been looking forward to serving my country. But the recent events in the last two weeks have changed everything.

“Imagine they kidnapped a bus full of corps members recently in Kogi. That means corps members are becoming a major target of kidnappers,” he said.

Similarly, a Babcock University graduate, Rukayat Abdulgafar, said she might reject mobilisation if posted outside Ogun State, where she currently resides.

“I am not in the right frame of mind to go to any camp or even travel unless I can get posting to Ogun State. Anything outside that, I will not go camping. I will just wait for the next batch,” she said.

Also, a graduate of the University of Ilorin, Ibrahim Bello, said he would seek redeployment if posted to a state he considered unsafe.

“There are states I would not want to be posted to in the North, like Zamfara, Sokoto, Yobe, Borno and the eastern states where insecurity is ravaging. I prefer to stay closer to my area, and if it doesn’t work, I would rather stay at home,” he stated.

Churches profile new members

Churches in the country have also beefed up security.

The National Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop David Bakare, said churches had security protocols, which he didn’t disclose.

“We are not aware of any security advisory. Nevertheless, churches across the country have not for once let their guard down on the issue of security. The churches across the country have their security protocols in place that are reviewed periodically,” he said.

Also, the Secretary General of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church, Prophet Anthony Samaye, said one of the security measures being taken was the profiling of new members.

“One of the ways the church secures itself is to identify new members by calling for new members to signify during every service and during conventions. That is part of our previous security protocol,” he stated.(Punch)