Friday, September 11, 2026

Kidnapping of Schoolgirls: Tinubu orders deputy defence minister Matawalle to relocate to Kebbi

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

• November 21, 2025
Matawalle and Tinubu
Matawalle and Tinubu

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)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Uba San

Heading 2

Gov. Sani meets ASUU’s demand, urges lecturers to end strike

The KASU branch of ASUU had earlier embarked on a two-week warning strike.

Tailors

Heading 5

Kogi govt begins registration of tailors to curb fraud, impersonation

Mr Shuaibu said proper documentation would enable the government to identify genuine practitioners.

DHQ

NationWide

17 terrorists surrendered, 300 rounds of ammunition recovered in one week: DHQ 

Mr Onoja urged members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies.

Joint Nigeria-Benin Customs meeting

Economy

Nigeria, Benin customs introduce digital system to ease cross-border trade

The CGC said the purpose of the CDES was to bring women into the formal trading system.

Oyo State

States

Oyo govt releases 2026 JSS placement screening results

The commissioner congratulated successful candidates.

Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa

Economy

FG targets two million jobs in creative sector by 2030

The minster observed that Kano’s rich creative heritage can drive job creation and economic growth.