President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 24 female students.
Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, has been instructed to remain in the state to oversee and coordinate ongoing security operations aimed at rescuing the kidnapped schoolgirls.
The abduction occurred around 4 a.m. on Monday when gunmen stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State.
In a statement released Thursday night, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Matawalle is expected to arrive in Birnin Kebbi on Friday.
“He gained valuable experience in tackling banditry and mass abductions during his tenure as governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023,” the statement noted, recalling the February 2021 kidnapping of 279 schoolgirls in Jangebe and their release days later.
President Tinubu had earlier postponed his planned trip to Johannesburg and Luanda as he awaited further briefings on both the Kebbi schoolgirls’ abduction and the attack on worshippers at the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.
