President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately relocate to Kebbi State to coordinate security operations for the rescue of the 25 schoolgirls abducted on Monday.
The directive, issued on Thursday, comes as the federal government intensifies efforts to free the students taken around 4 am from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Sakaba Local Government Area.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Matawalle is expected to arrive Birnin Kebbi on Friday, where he will remain to oversee rescue operations and provide the President with direct, real-time updates.
Onanuga said the President’s decision leverages Matawalle’s previous experience confronting banditry and mass abductions during his tenure as Zamfara State Governor (2019–2023). One of the most prominent incidents occurred on 26 February 2021, when 279 female students were kidnapped from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, and later freed on March 2.
President Tinubu had earlier postponed his official trip to Johannesburg for the G20 Summit and to Luanda for the AU–EU Summit, electing to remain in the country to receive security briefings on both the Kebbi abduction and Tuesday’s violent attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, in Kwara State.
The Presidency had previously said the President is deeply troubled by renewed attacks on schools and religious institutions, and has ordered heightened security operations across vulnerable communities.
Matawalle’s relocation underscores the administration’s position that the Kebbi abductions constitute a national emergency requiring high-level, hands-on coordination.
In recent years, gunmen have intensified attacks across parts of the Northwest and North-Central, frequently targeting schools for mass kidnappings aimed at extortion. Security agencies have now launched extensive search-and-rescue missions across forests bordering Kebbi, Zamfara, and Niger states.
