TINUBU DEPLOYS MATAWALLE TO KEBBI TO RESCUE ABDUCTED SCHOOLGIRLS, URGES URGENT ACTION AGAINST BANDITS

November 20, 2025

Read Time:54 Second

By Aishat Momoh. O.

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 24 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town.

The students, all female, were taken by gunmen around 4 a.m. on Monday. President Tinubu instructed Matawalle—former governor of Zamfara State with prior experience in addressing banditry and mass kidnappings—to remain in Kebbi to oversee security operations aimled at securing the girls’ safe release.

Matawalle’s tenure as Zamfara governor from 2019 to 2023 included handling major security crises, including the February 26, 2021 abduction of 279 female students from Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State. The hostages were released on March 2, 2021.

In response to the Kebbi abductions and a recent attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, President Tinubu postponed his planned trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, pending security briefings.

Authorities in Kebbi are intensifying efforts to locate the abducted students and bring the perpetrators to justice.