The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) have agreed to strengthen security around basic education institutions as part of federal efforts to stop terrorists from infiltrating schools.
The partnership was firmed up on Monday during a courtesy visit to UBEC by the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Aneke.
In a statement, NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame said the Air Chief stressed the need for a strategic security framework that brings the military and education authorities together to safeguard schools, especially in high-risk areas.
Air Marshal Aneke noted that recent attacks on learning centres—including the abduction of 303 pupils and 12 teachers from a Catholic boarding school in Niger State, and the kidnapping of 24 girls from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State—show the urgency of deeper collaboration between security agencies and education stakeholders.
He endorsed UBEC’s Safe School Programme as a platform to improve monitoring, accountability and protection across basic education facilities nationwide.
Aneke also underscored NAF’s commitment to safe and technology-enabled learning within its 33 schools—20 primary and 13 secondary—which serve both military and civilian communities.
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“Our responsibility extends beyond protecting communities to nurturing the future of the Nigerian child,” he said.
Air Marshal Aneke said the NAF was already implementing measures to enhance teacher development, digital literacy, and facility upgrades across its schools.
He outlined other priority areas for partnership to include intervention for upgrading NAF schools to accommodate more students, collaborative teacher training programmes, integration into UBEC’s digital education platforms, and joint quality assurance mechanisms.
The CAS emphasized that stronger collaboration with UBEC would expand the reach and impact of these efforts, particularly in deploying modern safe-school technologies and learning systems.
The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba, expressed the Commission’s readiness to strengthen strategic collaboration with the NAF and commended it for its contributions to national development beyond its defence mandate.
She said, “No education system can thrive without safety, and no security framework is complete without education.”
She welcomed the proposed areas of cooperation and affirmed UBEC’s commitment to sustained technical engagement that enhances school safety, improves learning delivery, and builds resilience across Nigeria’s basic education sector.
