The programme was inaugurated on Monday in Calabar at the Government Secondary School, Federal Housing Estate, Calabar.

The Commandant of NSCDC in Cross River, Mr Samuel Fadeyi, said that the sensitisation was a pet project of the Commandant-General of NSCDC, Dr Ahmed Audi, tagged “Safe School Initiative’’.

Fadeyi explained that the programme was conceived following attacks on schools in some parts of the country, hence the need to initiate the programme.

According to him, the programme was in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education with a view to reaching out to many secondary schools in the country.

“Sometime in 2012, we did a study of all the schools on risk assessment and their vulnerabilities; it is on that basis we are doing a follow up on the students on basic safety tips.

“And also, with the recent upsurge on Gender Based Violence (GBV), we needed to sensitise them so that they can help themselves before the security personnel comes in.

“We have trained 50 personnel on GBV cases and on how to handle the victims and offenders. Our aim is to do things that are deterrent to the frequent occurrences of these cases.

“Cross River is one of the high places where GBV happens and we are all out to ensure that we bring it to the minimum or erase it completely,” he assured.

He gave assurance that the programme would go on seamlessly across the state.

Also speaking, Mrs Mary Ejuba, Head of Anti-Human Trafficking, Irregular Migration and Gender Unit of NSCDC in the state, urged students to always report cases of insecurity around them to the school authority.

Ejuba, an Assistant Commandant of the Corps, advised the students to shun unnecessary comments on social media and to protect their social media accounts from being hacked by fraudsters.

She enjoined the students to always be in their classes during school hours, adding that most cases of kidnapping and child trafficking were recorded from students who loiter outside schools during classes.

The Principal of the school, Mrs Agnes Nyong, thanked the NSCDC for the awareness programme, adding that it would go a long way in guiding the conduct of students at school and in their respective homes.

Miss Mary-Joe Akomaye, an SS 2 student, who responded on behalf of the students, promised that they would abide by the tips given to them by personnel of the NSCDC.