President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately move to Kebbi State following the abduction of 25 students from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Headquarters of Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area.
The president issued the directive as part of efforts to intensify the search for the schoolgirls who were seized by armed men around 4 a.m. on Monday.
According to the Presidency, Matawalle is to remain in Kebbi State to coordinate and monitor ongoing security operations aimed at rescuing the abducted students.
“The Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, has been instructed to relocate to Kebbi and oversee the security response,” Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said.
Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, previously supervised responses to large-scale kidnappings during his tenure.
This includes the February 26, 2021 abduction of 279 female students from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, all of whom were released on March 2, 2021.
Onanuga noted that President Tinubu had also suspended his planned trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, as he awaited further briefings on both the Kebbi incident and the attack on worshippers at the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.
“The President is closely monitoring developments and has cancelled his foreign engagements to focus on the situation,” Onanuga added.
