President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has abruptly postponed his scheduled trip to Johannesburg, South Africa for the 20th G20 Summit and his planned onward journey to Luanda, Angola, for the 7th AU–EU Summit. The move comes amid a serious spike in security breaches at home, including the mass abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State and a deadly attack on worshipers at a church in Kwara State.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, President Tinubu is staying in Abuja to receive detailed security briefings. He has specifically asked for updates from Vice President Kashim Shettima, who has already visited the affected community in Kebbi, as well as from the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) regarding the church attack in Kwara.
On November 17, 2025, gunmen in a well-coordinated assault stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, in the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
The attackers, believed to be bandits, came on motorcycles carrying rifles. They exchanged fire with police tactical units guarding the school.
During the raid, they scaled the fence, broke into the students’ hostel, and abducted 25 schoolgirls.
Tragically, the vice principal, identified as Malam Hassan Makuku, was shot and killed while allegedly trying to protect the students.
Security forces have launched a major search operation. According to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, troops have been ordered to conduct intelligence-led, continuous, day-and-night pursuit of the kidnappers.
Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State has visited the school and pledged that all efforts are being made to secure the girls’ safe return.
On the same week, armed assailants attacked a Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State.
President Tinubu, responding to a call from the Governor of Kwara State, has directed security forces — including police and military — to deploy additional personnel in Eruku and the broader Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State.
He has also instructed the police to “go after” the attackers and bring those responsible to justice.
Tinubu has told security agencies to prioritise the safe rescue of the abducted schoolgirls, calling for “everything possible” to be done.
He is awaiting a full security briefing before reconsidering his foreign travel plans.
The postponement underscores how pressing internal security concerns are, even ahead of high-stakes international diplomacy.
The raid in Kebbi is part of a larger pattern of “bandit” violence in northwest Nigeria, where criminal gangs — sometimes former herders — carry out kidnappings, often for ransom.
Maga town in Kebbi has a history of such raids. Vanguard News
The Chief of Army Staff’s public message to troops (“success is not optional”) signals a serious commitment from the military to take decisive action.
Former Kano Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (NNPP) has strongly condemned the federal government over the rising insecurity, noting that mass kidnappings and bandit attacks reflect systemic failures.
Nigeria’s security crisis has drawn global attention. The rise in school kidnappings recalls the 2014 Chibok abductions, which sparked international outrage.
