President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi State following the abduction of 24 schoolgirls.

The directive was contained in a statement by Presidential Spokesperson Mr. Bayo Onanuga on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr. Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, has been instructed to remain in Kebbi to coordinate and monitor security operations aimed at rescuing the students.

Gunmen abducted 24 students of Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, around 4.00 a.m. on Monday.

Mr. Matawalle, expected to arrive in Birnin Kebbi on Friday, gained experience handling banditry and mass kidnappings during his tenure as Zamfara governor from 2019 to 2023. In February 2021, bandits abducted 279 female students from a secondary school in Jangebe, Zamfara State; all were released days later.

President Tinubu has postponed his planned trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, as he awaits further security briefings on the Kebbi abductions and Monday’s attack on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.