President Tinubu directs Defence Minister Matawalle to Kebbi over 24 schoolgirls’ abduction

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President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, to relocate immediately to Kebbi State to coordinate and oversee security efforts aimed at securing the release of 24 schoolgirls abducted in Kebbi earlier this week. Matawalle, who previously governed Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023 and has experience handling banditry and mass kidnappings including the 2021 Jangebe schoolgirls abduction, is expected to arrive in Birni-Kebbi on Friday. The abduction occurred at Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town around 4 a.m. on Monday, with one of the 25 seized girls managing to escape. In response, security forces have intensified search-and-rescue operations in the area. President Tinubu postponed his scheduled trips to Johannesburg and Luanda to stay abreast of security developments, including the recent attack on Christ Apostolic Church worshippers in Kwara State. The government’s moves underscore the seriousness with which it treats the rise in banditry-related school attacks in Northwestern Nigeria ​.