President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately relocate to Kebbi State to oversee security operations following the abduction of 25 schoolgirls. The directive was confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, is expected to remain in Kebbi to monitor efforts to secure the safe release of the abducted students. He is scheduled to arrive in Birni-Kebbi on Friday.
The students were kidnapped around 4 a.m. on Monday from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State. The move draws on Matawalle’s prior experience in handling mass kidnappings and banditry during his tenure as Zamfara State governor from 2019 to 2023.
Notably, in February 2021, armed bandits abducted 279 female students, aged 10 to 17, from Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State. All the hostages were released safely on March 2, 2021, after security negotiations.
In light of the Kebbi abduction and the recent attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, President Tinubu postponed his scheduled trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, pending further security briefings on both incidents.