President Bola Tinubu has directed Bello Matawalle, Minister of State for Defence, to relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 24 schoolgirls.
Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, was instructed to remain in Kebbi to oversee security efforts aimed at securing the release of the abducted students.
Recall that gunmen abducted 24 students of Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State, around 4 a.m. on Monday.
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Matawalle, who is expected to arrive in Birnin Kebbi on Friday, gained considerable experience in dealing with banditry and mass kidnappings during his tenure as governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023.
On February 26, 2021, armed bandits abducted 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 from Government Girls’ Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, Zamfara State. The bandits released all the hostages on March 2, 2021.
Following the latest abduction, President Tinubu postponed his scheduled trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, as he awaited further security briefings on the kidnapped Kebbi schoolgirls and the attack on Christ Apostolic Church worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State.
The President has since continued to monitor developments in Kebbi, as security operatives comb the entire Northwest and surrounding areas for the abducted schoolgirls.
