The Department of State Services (Department of State Services) has issued a security alert to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps) over an alleged plan by suspected bandits to abduct schoolchildren in Edo State.
According to TheCable, the alert was contained in a security advisory dated 5 June 2026 and addressed to the NSCDC command in the state.
The DSS stated that intelligence gathered indicated plans by armed groups to target schools, particularly in Edo North Senatorial District. It said intercepted communications suggested the attackers had shifted focus to schoolchildren after earlier attempts to kidnap high-profile individuals failed to yield expected ransom gains.
The agency also referenced the arrest of a suspect allegedly conducting surveillance around a secondary school in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area on 4 June 2026.
In the advisory, the DSS urged coordinated preventive measures, including increased deployment of security personnel to vulnerable schools, intensified patrols, and collaboration with local vigilantes to strengthen surveillance around educational facilities.
The alert comes amid rising concern over repeated school-targeted abductions in parts of the country, prompting heightened security responses from relevant agencies.
