Tinubu Orders Defence Minister Matawalle to Relocate to Kebbi Over Abduction of 24 Schoolgirls
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Maga community.
Gunmen invaded Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, at about 4 a.m. on Monday, whisking away the female students in yet another attack targeting educational institutions in the northern region.
In a statement released on Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Matawalle has been instructed to remain in Kebbi State until significant progress is made in the ongoing efforts to secure the safe release of the abducted schoolchildren.
Mr. Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, is expected to arrive in Birnin-Kebbi on Friday. His tenure as governor between 2019 and 2023 exposed him to several major banditry incidents, including the February 2021 abduction of 279 students from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe. The victims, aged between 10 and 17, were released days later.
President Tinubu has also postponed his scheduled official trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, as he awaits further security briefings regarding the kidnapped Kebbi students and the attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.
The Presidency reaffirmed that all security agencies have been placed on high alert, with intensified operations expected in the coming days to rescue the students and restore calm in the affected communities.
