ABUJA, Nigeria – In a bold move to strengthen national security, the Department of State Services (DSS) has announced plans to establish dedicated security units focused on protecting schools and religious centres across the country. This initiative is aimed at countering the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism in Nigeria’s most vulnerable spaces.
The Director of the DSS, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, disclosed this during a recent high-level security forum in Abuja, stressing the importance of proactive intelligence deployment in safeguarding educational and faith-based institutions.
According to Bichi, the proposed initiative will involve a strategic mix of surveillance, community engagement, and real-time intelligence gathering to prevent attacks before they occur. “Places of learning and worship must be protected at all costs. These are sanctuaries of knowledge and faith, and we cannot allow them to become targets for terrorism,” he stated.
The DSS boss emphasized that the security agency is working closely with other intelligence and law enforcement bodies to roll out the plan across high-risk zones, especially in parts of the North-East and North-West regions, where schools and churches have suffered repeated attacks by insurgents and bandits.
Security experts have lauded the DSS initiative as timely, especially as Nigeria continues to face threats from groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP, whose activities have displaced millions and disrupted education in many northern communities.
The proposed school and religious centre security units will also benefit from partnerships with local vigilante groups, school administrators, and religious leaders to improve situational awareness and grassroots intelligence flow.
This development aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s security agenda, which prioritizes intelligence-driven operations, community policing, and inter-agency collaboration as pillars of national counter-terrorism efforts.
As implementation strategies take shape, the DSS has urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities, reiterating that safeguarding lives is a shared responsibility between the government and the public.
