President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 24 schoolgirls.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu instructed Matawalle to remain in Kebbi and oversee security operations aimed at rescuing the abducted students.
Gunmen had stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, around 4:00 a.m. on Monday, abducting the students while they slept. One student later managed to escape, leaving 24 girls still in captivity.
Tinubu, who has been receiving continuous security updates on the incident and on the attack on Christ Apostolic Church worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State, postponed his scheduled trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola.
According to the statement, Matawalle is expected to arrive in Birnin Kebbi on Friday. It added that the minister, a former governor of Zamfara State, had gained experience dealing with banditry and mass kidnappings during his tenure between 2019 and 2023.
Zamfara witnessed one of the country’s most high-profile school abductions in February 2021, when armed bandits kidnapped 279 female students aged 10 to 17 from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe. All the hostages were released on March 2, 2021.
Tinubu’s decision to postpone his foreign trips underscores the heightened urgency surrounding the Kebbi abductions and the broader insecurity challenges facing the country.
