Tinubu Deploys Defence Minister Matawalle to Kebbi as Search Intensifies for Abducted Schoolgirls

Tinubu Deploys Defence Minister Matawalle to Kebbi as Search Intensifies for Abducted Schoolgirls

Abiola Adigun| Albarka 89.9 FM|Ilorin|November 202025

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately relocate to Kebbi State to coordinate ongoing security operations following the abduction of 24 students from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town.
The President’s directive, announced in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, underscores the gravity with which the Federal Government is responding to the incident. Gunmen had invaded the school around 4 a.m. on Monday, whisking away the students in what is the latest of a series of mass abductions targeting educational institutions in northern Nigeria.
Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, is expected to arrive in Birnin Kebbi on Friday and remain in the state “to monitor security efforts to secure the release of the abducted students.” His deployment is seen as strategic, given his experience handling banditry and mass kidnappings during his tenure in Zamfara between 2019 and 2023.
During his governorship, one of the most high-profile incidents occurred on 26 February 2021, when 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 were abducted from the Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe. All the hostages were released on 2 March 2021 after days of negotiations and security interventions.
The latest abduction in Kebbi has intensified nationwide concerns over the safety of schoolchildren and the persistent threat of armed banditry in the North-West. President Tinubu had earlier postponed his scheduled trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, to receive continuous security briefings on the Kebbi schoolgirls’ situation and the recent attack on Christian worshippers in Eruku, Kwara State.
“The President is fully engaged with security agencies and is committed to ensuring that every abducted child is safely reunited with their families,” the statement added.
Security operations across Kebbi communities have since been reinforced, with air and ground components mobilised to track the kidnappers and ensure the safe return of the students.