Blog Details

*Orders 24-hour aerial surveillance of Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, charges security agencies to rescue others in captivity

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*IGP seeks collaboration to surmount insecurity across Nigeria, Assembly says Niger under siege 

*Sani tells northern elites to stop weaponising insecurity

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Deji Elumoye, Michael Olugbode, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Adedayo Akinwale, Linus Aleke in Abuja, John Shiklam in Kaduna, Hammed Shittu in Ilorin, Laleye Dipo in Minna, Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Enugu and Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

The 24 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS), Maga, in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, have regained their freedom.

President Bola Tinubu expressed happiness over the development, saying he has ordered a total air security surveillance around forests in Kebbi, Kwara and Niger states.

The directive followed an upsurge in kidnapping and terrorist activities in the states.

The president, in a statement yesterday by his Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, declared, “I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for.”

Tinubu applauded the security agents for the efforts made to secure freedom for all the victims taken away by the terrorists. He tasked the security agents to make more efforts to rescue the remaining students still being held captive.

“Now, we must put as a matter of urgency more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping,” he stated. “My government will offer all the assistance needed to achieve this,” he added.

A source familiar with the government’s coordinated rescue effort disclosed that the schoolgirls’ release was occasioned by a non-kinetic intervention by the federal government.

According to the source, the operation succeeded through close collaboration between the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Department of State Services (DSS), which worked behind the scenes to secure the girls’ freedom without resorting to force.

The source explained that the reliance on a non-kinetic approach—centred on dialogue, negotiation, and other peaceful measures—reflected a continuing shift in the government’s strategy for addressing mass abductions, which have repeatedly affected the northern region in recent years. 

But Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, demanded a full military investigation to identify and hold accountable the commander, who allegedly ordered the withdrawal of soldiers from the school shortly before the abduction. 

The governor described the incident as an act of “clear sabotage”. 

The military, in a statement, confirmed that the matter was currently under investigation.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, disclosure in a post on his verified X handle that Tinubu had ordered a total air surveillance around forests in Kwara, Niger and Kebbi states.

Dare said the president had directed the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to intensify aerial surveillance over the deepest stretches of the forests, where criminals were believed to be hiding.