President Bola Tinubu has suspended his planned foreign travel to South Africa and Angola, due to the urgent national security concerns following recent mass abductions and deadly bandit attacks across Nigeria.
The decision, announced on Wednesday, postpones his attendance at both the 20th G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg and the 7th AU-EU Summit in Luanda, where he was scheduled to depart today.
The President’s suspension of his trip was as a result of the abduction of the 25 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Kebbi State, and a deadly bandit attack on worshippers at the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Eruku, Kwara State, which occurred earlier this week, as reported by Dawn Herald.
Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, confirmed the postponement in a statement, noting that the decision was made after receiving a formal request from Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for a quick security deployment to Eruku region of the Kwara state. The Governor, according to the statement, sought urgent federal assistance following the church assault.
The President immediately acted on the request, ordering the dispatch of additional security personnel to Eruku and the entire Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State. He also directed police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to actively track down the attackers who targeted the church worshippers.
I am also depressed that heartless terrorists have disrupted the education of innocent schoolgirls. I have directed the security agencies to act swiftly and bring the girls back to Kebbi State
The security situation of the country escalated earlier this week, specifically on Monday night, when bandits raided the Government Girls Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi state, abducting 25 schoolgirls, though two have since reportedly escaped captivity.
This attach in Kebbi state was quickly followed by the attack on Tuesday evening at the CAC branch in Eruku, a border town between Kwara and Kogi states. Dawn Herald, reported multiple armed bandits ransacked the church during a service, injuring residents and abducting others. While the Kwara Police Command confirmed the intervention of operatives and vigilantes led the bandits to flee into the bush, spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi confirmed three persons, including a vigilante, were injured.
The president is currently awaiting updates from Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who was dispatched to Kebbi State yesterday on his behalf, to sympathize with the victims’ families and review the search-and-rescue operations.
The President also ordered all security agencies to do everything possible to ensure the 24 schoolgirls are rescued safely and returned home.
Leave a comment