President Bola Tinubu has abruptly postponed his departure for the G20 Summit in South Africa and a subsequent AU-EU meeting in Angola, choosing instead to stay in Abuja until he receives full security briefings on the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State and the deadly bandit attack on worshippers in Kwara.
A terse statement from presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Wednesday confirmed the suspension of the foreign trips, citing the president’s deep concern over the two incidents that unfolded within 48 hours.
Tinubu has ordered additional troops to Kwara’s Eruku axis following Monday’s assault on Christ Apostolic Church, which left two worshippers dead and one vigilante critically injured. He also reiterated his earlier directive for an all-out rescue operation to bring home the remaining 24 girls kidnapped from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, after one escapee made it back safely on Monday night.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, already in the northwest on the president’s behalf, is expected to deliver on-the-ground reports before Tinubu reschedules his travel.
The back-to-back attacks have reignited national outrage over persistent banditry in northern Nigeria, forcing the president to put global engagements on hold as the country confronts yet another wave of school abductions and rural terror.
