Tinubu Orders Matawalle To Relocate To Kebbi As Anger Over Abductions Surge

• Army chief tells troops: Ensure Nigerians go about normal lives
• APC chieftain Ozigbo calls for national campaign against terror

By Peter Salami

President Bola Tinubu has issued firm directives to halt the rising wave of abductions and violent attacks across the country, ordering the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately relocate to Kebbi State and coordinate rescue operations for 25 schoolgirls abducted on Monday.

The directive, conveyed through the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, follows the kidnapping of female students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in the early hours of Monday. Matawalle is expected in Birnin Kebbi on Friday and will remain in the state until substantial progress is recorded in efforts to rescue the girls.

According to the presidency, Tinubu’s instruction reflects deep concern over the resurgence of mass kidnappings, killings, and attacks on civilian communities. The President has also postponed his scheduled trips to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, pending detailed security briefings on the Kebbi school abductions and the assault on worshippers at Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.

Matawalle, a former governor of Zamfara State, is familiar with large-scale abductions, having overseen the rescue of 279 schoolgirls kidnapped in Jangebe in February 2021. The presidency believes his field experience is crucial as the government intensifies efforts to curb banditry in the North-West.

In a separate development, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, has charged troops of Operation Fansan Yamma in Gusau to maintain discipline and ensure that citizens are able to go about their normal activities without fear. Addressing officers during his operational tour of military formations, Shaibu praised their resilience and warned them to remain resolute and aligned with the ethics of the Nigerian Army. He also pledged improved welfare for troops fighting insecurity across the country.

Meanwhile, prominent APC chieftain and former Transcorp President/CEO, Valentine Ozigbo, has urged President Tinubu to launch an intensive nationwide campaign against insecurity. In a letter to the President, Ozigbo described recent attacks—including the Kebbi abductions, killings, and kidnappings in Kwara, the murder of a senior military officer, and multiple assaults on travellers—as “open wounds on the conscience of the nation.”

Calling for bold leadership, Ozigbo urged Tinubu to “draw the red line” against terrorists and ensure that sponsors and protectors of violent groups face justice. He advocated structural reforms under what he termed the “Orange Union Model,” involving regional autonomy within a unified national framework.

Ozigbo also called for a political resolution to the case of IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, arguing that his release would help stabilise the South-East and advance national healing. “Even if he erred, nations are healed through mercy, not martyrdom,” he wrote.