Eshiorameh Sebastian in Abuja
The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has announced that Nigerian security forces have identified the location of the schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, and are now closing in on their position.
The announcement comes five days after bandits kidnapped twenty-five students from the school in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area. Officials confirmed that one of the abducted students managed to escape and has since returned home safely.
During a media briefing in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday, Matawalle revealed that significant progress has been made since security agencies were deployed to rescue the students. “The issue of security is sensitive, but so far, the intelligence we had at hand shows that we are almost close to those children,” the minister stated.
He detailed the security operation, noting that “currently, we have deployed a lot of security agents to cover all and block most of the routes within Kebbi and Zamfara State and neighbouring Niger State.” Matawalle emphasized the crucial need for “cooperation from the surrounding communities” to ensure the successful rescue of the schoolgirls.
The development follows President Bola Tinubu’s directive on Thursday ordering the defence minister to relocate to Kebbi State to monitor the rescue operation personally. Matawalle brings experience to this crisis, having served as governor of Zamfara State during the 2021 mass abduction of 279 students from the Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe.
This latest incident forms part of a disturbing pattern of mass abductions targeting educational institutions in Nigeria’s North-west region and neighbouring Niger State. Just on Friday, over 300 school children were abducted from St Mary’s School in Papir, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.
The escalating security crisis has prompted several state governments, including Katsina and Plateau, to order the immediate closure of schools as a precautionary measure.
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