Tinubu puts off his trip to G20 summit in response to abduction of Kebbi schoolgirls

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has put off his planned trips to southern Africa to attend the 20th G20 Summit in Johannesburg and the seventh AU-EU Summit in Luanda in response to the recent abduction of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State.

On Monday, armed men killed vice principal, Mallam Hassan Makuku and abducted at least 25 students in an attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, around 4am. Apparently, the attackers engaged police personnel on duty in a gun duel before scaling the perimeter fence and seizing the students from their hostel.

Their attack was then followed by an assault on worshippers at the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State. Concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the country, President Tinubu has ordered the deployment of more security operatives to Eruku and the and directed the police to go after the bandits who attacked worshippers and then ordered vice president Kashim Shettima to visit Kebbi State.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, said: “Disturbed by the security breaches in Kebbi State and Monday’s attack by bandits against worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, President Tinubu decided to suspend his departure. He now awaits reports from vice president Kashim Shettima, who paid a sympathetic visit to Kebbi on his behalf, as well as reports from the police and the Department of State Services regarding the attack in Kwara.”

In Kebbi State, apart from the fact that one member of staff was killed while trying to protect the students, a second sustained gunshot wounds and is now receiving treatment. Eyewitnesses described a large group of attackers, known locally as bandits, who arrived firing sporadically to cause panic.

Residents added that the gunmen then rounded up the girls and marched them into nearby bushland. Police said they had deployed additional tactical units, alongside military personnel and vigilante groups to the area as a coordinated search and rescue operation is underway in surrounding forests and suspected escape routes.

Over the past decade, schools in northern Nigeria have become frequent targets for armed groups, who often carry out abductions to seek ransom payments or leverage deals with the government. Nigeria's federal government has also banned the payment of ransoms to kidnappers in an attempt to make it less lucrative.

This is the first major school abduction since March 2024, when more than 200 pupils were seized from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna state. Earlier today, vice president Shettima landed at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Birnin Kebbi accompanied by Zubaida Umar, the director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency and other government officials.

Apparently, Mallam Makuku, the school vice principal, was killed while trying to prevent the bandits from taking the girls away. President Bola Tinubu has condemned the attack and commiserated with the families of those affected.