Tinubu, Matawalle Earn Praise After Swift Rescue of 24 Abducted Kebbi Schoolgirls

President Bola Tinubu, Minister of State for Defence Bello Matawalle, and the Nigerian Armed Forces have received strong commendation following the rapid rescue of 24 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State.

The Northern Security and Civic Protection Forum (NSCPF), in a statement on Tuesday signed by its president, Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ma’aruf, described the operation as “well-coordinated, unrelenting, and strategically decisive,” noting that the federal government’s response reflected a new level of urgency in tackling school abductions.

The schoolgirls, abducted from their hostel by armed bandits on November 17, were rescued on November 25 after what the group called “sustained military pressure” that forced their captors to abandon them deep inside the forests.

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Al-Ma’aruf said Tinubu’s directive instructing Matawalle to relocate to Kebbi immediately “shifted the tone and urgency of the operation,” adding that the minister’s on-ground presence galvanised security agencies across the northwest.

“From the moment President Tinubu ordered the minister of state for defence to move to Kebbi and assume personal oversight, the tempo changed,” the group said. “Bello Matawalle arrived with a clear mandate and deep knowledge of the terrain. What followed was an intense, multi-agency assault that left the bandits with no safe corridor.”

The NSCPF said the rescue signalled a departure from what it described as “the slow, reactive posture Nigerians had become familiar with,” stressing that the operation showed the armed forces’ capability when backed by strong political will.

For four days straight, troops reportedly maintained combined air and ground pressure on the kidnappers’ hideouts. The forum said this persistent assault “made it impossible for the criminals to hold on to the girls.”

“This is not just a rescue; it is a statement of authority,” Al-Ma’aruf added.

The group praised the President for making it clear that attacks on schoolchildren will not be tolerated under his administration, noting that the swift response prevented what could have become another prolonged national trauma.

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Al-Ma’aruf urged the federal government to sustain the offensive against bandit groups across Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger and Kaduna, warning that the rescue must mark the beginning of continuous pressure on criminal networks.

He added that the rescued girls deserve full rehabilitation and reintegration support.

“With this rescue, the government has restored hope. Now it must ensure no child in northern Nigeria ever faces such terror again,” the group said.