Abducted Schoolgirls: Tinubu Orders Relocation Of Matawalle To Kebbi

President Bola Tinubu has directed relocation of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to Kebbi State over the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in the state.

According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, Matawalle, who was a former Zamfara State governor was asked to remain in the state to monitor security efforts for the release of the abducted students.

Armed bandits abducted the students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State, around 4 am on Monday.

Matawalle, who is expected to arrive in Birni-Kebbi on Friday, gained some experience in dealing with banditry and mass kidnapping during his tenure as governor of Zamfara State between 2019 and 2023.

Armed bandits on 26 February, 2021, abducted 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, in Zamfara State. The bandits released all the hostages on 2 March 2021.

Tinubu had 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.