President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 24 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga.
The students were seized by gunmen at about 4 a.m. on Monday, prompting heightened security efforts across the state. Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, is expected to remain in Kebbi to oversee rescue operations. He is scheduled to arrive in Birnin Kebbi on Friday.
Matawalle previously handled similar large-scale abductions during his tenure as Zamfara governor, including the February 2021 kidnapping of 279 schoolgirls from Jangebe, who were later released.
The renewed security concerns have also forced President Tinubu to postpone planned trips to South Africa and Angola as he awaits further briefings on the Kebbi abduction and the attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.
