President Bola Tinubu is currently holding a closed-door meeting with service chiefs at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Some of those in attendance were the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyode; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Kelvin Aneke; the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas; the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General EAP Undiendeye, and the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu.
Also in attendance are the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as well as the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Ajayi.
Although the details of the meeting is still sketchy, it may not be unconnected with the series of abductions that have trailed some states in northern part of the country.
Maga Abduction
On November 17, gunmen stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) in Maga, Kebbi State.
It was gathered that the girls were whisked away during an attack by the gunmen in the early hours of Monday at the school located in the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of the state.
According to sources, the attackers killed the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, before abducting several schoolgirls.
The bandits operated without resistance and caused widespread panic, throwing the entire region into deep fear and mourning.
Makuku was shot while attempting to protect the students during the invasion.
Niger School Incident
While the nation was still trying to absorb the shock of the Kebbi school incident, dare-devil gunmen struck in Niger State.
This time, they invaded the St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, Niger State last Friday.
Sources said the gunmen arrived in large numbers, riding on over 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van. They were said to have shot the school’s gatekeeper, leaving him with serious injuries.
They succeeded in kidnapping 315 from the Catholic-owned institution, although 50 of them escaped, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria.
According to the CAN Chairman in Niger State, Most. Rev. Bulus Yohanna, who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, the students escaped between Friday and Saturday.
“The pupils escaped between Friday and Saturday and have reunited with their parents as they could not return to the school after they escaped. We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents,” Yohanna’s spokesman, Daniel Atori, said in a statement.
“The pupils escaped between Friday and Saturday and have reunited with their parents as they could not return to the school after they escaped. We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents.
“Note that, in the primary section out of the total number of 430 pupils we have in the school, 377 of them are boarders and the remaining 53 others are non-boarders.”
Police Intensify Search
Niger State Police Command said their tactical units and the military have been deployed to search for the pupils.
Police received a report at about 2am (01:00 GMT) that “some armed bandits invaded St Mary’s Private [Catholic] Secondary School, and abducted a yet to be ascertained number of students from the school’s hostel”, the force said in a statement.
It said security agencies were “combing the forests with a view to rescue the abducted students”.
Nigerian security forces have been placed on high alert this week as the country faces an uncomfortable spotlight on its security situation.
Tinubu Shelves G20 Summit
President Tinubu cancelled his planned trip to the G20 summit in South Africa following the abductions. Vice President Kashim Shettima attend in his place, the presidency said on X.
The school kidnappings and an attack on a church earlier this week come weeks after United States President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he described as targeted killings of Nigeria’s Christians, a narrative rejected by the Nigerian government, which says Muslims are the majority victims of attacks by armed groups.
Trump’s assertions echo claims that have gained traction among right-wing and Christian evangelical circles in recent months.
Church Attack
In a separate attack on a church in western Nigeria on Tuesday, armed men killed two people during a service that was recorded and broadcast online. Dozens of worshippers are believed to have been abducted.
Meanwhile, gunmen, who kidnapped 38 worshippers from a church in Kwara State on Tuesday, are demanding a ransom of 100 million naira (roughly $69,000) per worshipper, according to a church official on Friday
