President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in the region.
This directive was conveyed through a statement released by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday.
Matawalle, the former governor of Zamfara State, is instructed to remain in Kebbi to oversee security operations aimed at securing the release of the kidnapped students.
Gunmen abducted 24 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State, at approximately 4 am on Monday.
Matawalle, anticipated to arrive in Birni-Kebbi on Friday, brings with him experience in addressing issues of banditry and mass kidnappings, as demonstrated during his governorship in Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.
In a notable incident on 26 February 2021, armed bandits abducted 279 female students, aged 10 to 17, from the Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State. The hostages were released on 2 March 2021.
President Tinubu has postponed his planned trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, as he awaits further security updates on the kidnapped Kebbi schoolgirls and an attack on Christ Apostolic Church worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State.
