Abuja, Nigeria——

Nigeria police have ordered the establishment of a new police officer base and the deployment of special forces in a remote village in the northwestern state of Kaduna, where nearly 300 students were kidnapped by armed bandits on March 7.

Nigeria’s police chief, Kayode Egbetokun, announced the new base and deployment plans during a visit to Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani on Tuesday.

He said the measures would help restore residents’ confidence in their safety while security forces continued to search for the missing students.

Last Thursday, armed bandits on motorcycles invaded a primary school in Kuriga village, Kaduna State, and kidnapped 287 students, the highest number of student kidnappings in years.

Days later, in another attack, bandits abducted 61 people from Kajuru district, about 150 kilometers away.

A new police base will be based in Cooliga and the deployment of additional police officers to the area has begun.

Egbetokun said authorities were working to secure the release of the abductees.

“We are setting up a special intervention team for Kaduna state,” Egbetokun said. “We will start to feel safe again.” “

Sani said he hoped the police operation would be successful.

He said: “We are very confident that, by the grace of God, school children will return home safely and I am delighted that the Inspector General of Police has decided to quickly deploy the mobile base in the Kuriga community.”

Last week, local media reported that more than 300 women and children were abducted by Islamist militants while collecting firewood in northeastern Borno state.

Insecurity is a major challenge for President Bola Tinubu, who launched an initiative called “Restore Hope” after taking office last May.

Recent kidnappings have been blamed in part on a lack of security forces in these remote areas.

Last month, the President met with the governors of all 36 states to discuss the decentralization of the Nigeria Police Force and the establishment of a police unit for each state.

Beacon Security analyst Kabiru Adamu said this could be a step in the right direction if organized properly.

“There are gaps in the security architecture,” Adamu said. “I support police decentralization, but I think what we need most is accountability. So when we create state police, the elements of accountability that are created at the federal level will trickle down to the state level.”

Nigeria’s security forces have been stretched thin by years of fighting against Islamist militants and criminal gangs.

Many hope the creation of new bases and state police forces will help deter kidnappers.