PCRC to deploy 10,000 volunteers, install CCTV cameras to strengthen school security nationwide

The Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) has announced plans to mobilise 10,000 volunteers and install Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in schools across Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen security and support the Federal Government’s Safe Schools Initiative.

The initiative is aimed at improving the protection of schools, particularly those located in rural and high-risk communities that have experienced attacks by kidnappers and other criminal groups.

Speaking at the PCRC National Secretariat in Abuja, the National Chairman of the committee, Alhaji Mogaji Ibraheem Olaniyan, said the volunteers would work closely with the Nigeria Police Force, community leaders and other security stakeholders to enhance surveillance and intelligence gathering around schools.

According to Olaniyan, the planned deployment of CCTV systems will complement the volunteer network by improving monitoring and enabling quicker responses to security threats.

“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,” he said.

“We are going to make the job of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies easier through community participation and improved surveillance.”

Olaniyan explained that the committee had engaged with Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), traditional rulers and community leaders to ensure local support for the programme and improve its effectiveness.

Representing the Inspector-General of Police, the Force Public Relations Officer and PCRC Secretary-General, CSP Anietie Iniedu, described the initiative as a timely intervention amid growing security concerns affecting educational institutions.

He said schools had increasingly become targets for kidnappers and other criminal elements, stressing that community involvement remains essential to effective policing.

Iniedu reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to support the programme, noting that collaboration between security agencies and local communities is critical to safeguarding schools.

The initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen the Federal Government’s Safe Schools Initiative, which was introduced to improve security in schools and ensure uninterrupted access to education across the country.

The PCRC also disclosed that construction of its new national headquarters in Abuja is nearing completion and is expected to be inaugurated before the end of the year.

The committee said the facility would further support its community policing activities and coordination of security initiatives nationwide.