The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, said a secure and better environment must be provided for Nigerian children to be able to acquire education without fear of criminals.

Musa gave the assurance while declaring open a two-day workshop on safe schools workshop held at the headquarters of 1 Division, Nigerian Army on Tuesday in Kaduna.

He said the Armed Forces of Nigeria would continue to do all within their strength to ensure the protection of children in collaboration with other security agencies.

He explained that in line with the federal government’s policy on safe, secure and violent-free schools, the workshop became imperative in view of the incessant attacks on schools across Nigeria since 2014.

Mr Musa disclosed that the workshop was aimed at sensitising troops on the rudiments of inter-agency collaboration to protect schools against attacks.

The defence chief also disclosed that it was an avenue to provide key enablers required to reach the locations of some of the schools, such as motorcycles and communication gadgets, so as to respond rapidly when the need arises.

“The Armed Forces of Nigeria are for Nigerians and will continue to do all within their strength to ensure the protection of our children, working with all the security agencies,” Mr Musa said.

Earlier in his welcome address, the General Officer Commanding(GOC), 1  Division Nigerian Army Maj.-Gen. Mayirenso Saraso, called for collaborative efforts among all the stakeholders to secure schools across the state.

Mr Saraso appealed to the participants to make the best use of the workshop to ensure that the objective of the safe schools initiative was achieved.

(NAN)