President Bola Tinubu has directed deputy defence minister Bello Matawalle to relocate to Kebbi over the kidnapping of dozens of schoolgirls.‎

‎The order was announced in a statement on Thursday by the president’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.‎

Mr ‎Matawalle, who was formerly governor of Zamfara, was asked to remain in the state to monitor security efforts to secure the release of the kidnapped students.‎

‎Armed bandits kidnapped the girls from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi, around 4:00 a.m. on Monday.‎

‎Mr Matawalle, who is expected to arrive in Birnin-Kebbi on Friday, gained some experience in dealing with banditry and mass kidnapping during his tenure as governor of Zamfara from 2019 to 2023.‎

‎On February 26, 2021, bandits kidnapped 279 female students aged between 10 and 17 at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in Jangebe, in Zamfara.

The bandits released all the hostages on March 2, 2021.‎

‎Mr Tinubu had postponed his scheduled trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, as he awaited further security briefings on the kidnapped Kebbi schoolgirls and the attack on Christ Apostolic Church worshippers in Eruku, Kwara. 

(NAN)