Security agencies have beefed up security at schools and other sensitive places across Nigeria after intelligence that a coordinated attack by terrorist elements may be imminent.

The warning was particularly important, given that some of the supposed attacks could happen around the time of the reopening of schools for the 2026/2027 academic year, the Nigeria Police Force remarked.

The security message sent to the police formations around the country via a communication from the Force’s Department of Operations indicated enhanced mobilisation of terrorist elements and schools, NYSC orientation camps, places of worship and other vulnerable sites as targets.

The police also said they had intelligence that the movements of armed men from Katsina State were on the move through Kaduna towards Plateau State.

According to the alert, there is a rise in the movement of terrorists for possible coordinated assaults on worship centres, schools, NYSC orientation centres and other susceptible areas.

The Force said suspected Islamic State West Africa Province operatives and local collaborators were also carrying out surveillance and reconnaissance activities of potential targets.

The development triggered orders for increased patrolling, stop and search, intelligence and access control/work preparedness in vulnerable areas, as well as access control and rapid-response preparedness for vulnerable buildings.

Additionally, police commanders were instructed to enhance security at the state borders, all major entry and exit points, as well as other approaches that can be exploited by armed groups.

Defence Headquarters confirmed that it was keeping an eye on the situation, while the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, responded, “We are monitoring the situation.”

The NSCDC has also increased its intelligence activities at educational institutions.

The Corps’ spokesman, Babafemi Afolabi, said the Corps had doubled its intelligence network and was working more closely with other security agencies, communities and private security officers in the state commands.

He said that the intelligence operations had helped foil over 100 attempted attacks on schools.

Earlier, the Senior Special Duty Officer of the military Security Special Forces Command, Gen. Olowele Afolabi, told parents that the security agencies were doing everything to keep schools safe and urged them to send their children back.

“I would recommend to parents and their wards that they simply allow them to be free to go to school; nothing of the sort will occur,” he added.

But he asked the public to “report any suspicious activity on the spot” and emphasised that there is a need for the people, communities and the government to work together for security.

Nigerians must not take security alerts lightly, says Ali Amodu, former AIG. Intelligence gathering and warnings are part of the duties of security agencies.

He urged residents to be extra careful at places they know where they would likely gather in large numbers, including worship centres.

Amodu said the alert should make the citizens of Nigeria more conscious and ready, saying that security is everyone’s concern.

But former Director of the DSS, Michael Ejiofor, also called for the security agencies, government and citizens to act on preventive intelligence and not wait for an attack.

“When they give you this warning, you should take it seriously so that you don’t get taken aback,” Ejiofor said.

He established a need for better information sharing within and among communities and security agencies, saying, “See something, say something.”

Even with the security agencies’ assurances, parents still have fears regarding the safety of their children.

Many parents were already wary about the return to school and now the situation was further complicated by the NAPTAN faction headed by Uche Onyia, Ibrahim Nabayi, statements made on their behalf, which had made parents question what was going on in the school, he said.

“So, parents are afraid to send kids back to school,” he said. “Parents are worried now; parents are scared.”

Nabayi pleaded with the government to install modern surveillance systems around schools, which he said could alert to threats coming towards schools.

He also ordered the revival of the Safe School Initiative, urging mapping of schools and connecting them with effective surveillance and rapid response systems.

Nabayi said many schools continued to be vulnerable due to the inability of their security guards to “challenge the heavily armed attackers.

He thus urged greater collaboration among the government, security forces, communities and parent-teacher associations.

He urged the government and communities where schools are situated to be in sync and that security is not the government’s responsibility alone because the communities are proactive in the process.

Nabayi recommended that the schools be temporarily relocated to safer schools rather than closed in high-risk areas.

He referred to another earlier pact in Kaduna State which saw the transportation of vulnerable pupils to safer locations so they could sit for exams before they get back to their parents.

Nabayi stated that extended school closures may lead to further division in education, especially for those unable to access online education.

These security worries are coming against a backdrop of attacks and kidnappings on schools and other public institutions.

Three schools in Oriire LGA, Oyo State, were allegedly attacked in May 2026 by armed men who abducted 49 pupils, teachers, and a toddler, while a teacher of mathematics was reportedly killed in the process.

The DSS had also earlier launched an alert to religious leaders in Osun State over the alleged attack on worship centres and public gathering places ahead of the 2027 elections.