Abuja, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu has directed Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence, to relocate immediately to Kebbi State to oversee ongoing security operations aimed at rescuing 25 schoolgirls abducted earlier this week.
The order followed Monday, November 17, 2025’s attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, where armed bandits killed Hassan Yakubu Makuku, a staff member, and injured a security guard before seizing the students.
Two of the abducted girls reportedly escaped on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, but the majority remain in captivity.
In a statement on Thursday, November 20, 2025, the presidency said Matawalle had been instructed to “monitor security efforts to secure the release of the abducted students”.
The government noted that the minister “has some experience in dealing with banditry and mass kidnapping” from his time as governor of Zamfara State, a region long affected by similar security challenges.
Matawalle is expected to arrive in Kebbi on Friday, November 21, 2025.
The president’s directive comes as security agencies intensify search-and-rescue operations across suspected forest routes connecting Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger states.
The abduction has triggered national outrage and renewed calls for stronger community–security collaboration.
On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, Tinubu postponed his scheduled diplomatic trips to South Africa and Angola to focus on the deteriorating security situation.
His travel plans had included participation in the G20 Leaders’ Summit and the AU–EU Summit.
The Kebbi incident was followed 48 hours later by another violent attack on a church in the Eruku community of Kwara State, near the Kogi border.
Armed men stormed the Christ Apostolic Church branch at Oke Isegun during an evening service, ransacked the premises and fled into the bush with some worshippers’ belongings.
The Kwara State Police Command said three persons, including a vigilante, sustained gunshot injuries.
The command has not confirmed the number of those abducted or killed, though eyewitness accounts reported several casualties during the assault.
Tinubu, who earlier condemned both attacks, has urged communities to provide timely intelligence to security agencies, stressing that local cooperation remains critical to successful counter-banditry operations.
The federal government says it is working closely with state authorities, security agencies and vigilante networks to secure the release of the abducted students and prevent further attacks across vulnerable communities.
